"We grow more trees than we harvest," Sanjay Singh

In the last five years, the Indian paper industry has invested Rs 25,000 crore in capacity building and technology overhaul. In lieu of the raging controversy due to The Sunday Times labeling paper as "non bio-degradable", Sanjay Singh, the president of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) stated, "Contrary to popular perception, paper is a sustainable industry providing millions of jobs in the rural sector. Especially, organised paper industry has laid special thrust on sust

19 Sep 2015 | By Rahul Kumar

Singh added, "We grow more trees than we harvest. We recycle most of the waste paper that is generated. We recycle agricultural waste which otherwise would have been burnt in the fields. Integrated paper mills in India generate 60% of the power they use by utilising the black liquor from the pulping process. New breakthrough ideas are coming up to recycle the effluents. A few years ago, we used to consume 200 cubic metre of water to produce a tonne of paper. Now, the integrated mills have reduced this to 50 cubic metre. Efforts are on to bring it further down to 40 cubic metre. So, the perception that the paper industry is environmentally hazardous is grossly misplaced."
 
Singh said, India is one of the largest paper markets in the world with domestic consumption of paper estimated at 13.10 million tonnes per annum (tpa) in 2013-14. India ranks amongt the fastest growing markets for paper in the world. By 2024-25, under the baseline scenario, domestic consumption is projected to rise to 23.50 million tpa and in an optimistic scenario, the consumption is expected to rise to 36.90 million tpa.
 
He added, "Paper is still basic to education and projects such as ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ cannot be imagined without paper. Lifestyle changes are also leading to increase in packaging levels across different FMCG products and since paper is environment-friendly, being fully biodegradable, it is being preferred over many other materials. Given very low per capita paper consumption in India, its consumption is bound to go up in the foreseeable future."
 
Singh said, "An estimated 0.5 million farmers are engaged in growing plantations of trees like eucalyptus and subabul, over an estimated one million hectare."
 
The paper industry is wood positive. It grows more trees than it harvests. It recycles most of the waste paper it generates. It recycles agricultural waste which otherwise would have been burnt in the fields
 
The IPMA president, Sanjay Singh is the divisional chief executive of ITC Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division. A chemical engineer from IIT Kanpur, Singh joined the erstwhile ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited as a management trainee in 1977 and rose to become a director in 1999.
 
Consequent to the merger of ITC Bhadrachalam with ITC Limited in March 2002, he took charge of the Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division as executive vice-president (manufacturing) with responsibility for Bhadrachalam, Tribeni, Kovai and Bollaram units. He has played a vital role in the implementation of TPM and lean manufacturing in all the units. He is the past president of the Indian Pulp and Paper Technical Association, and president of the Apex Council of Indian Paper Manufacturers Association. He is also the committee member of the CII - Andhra Pradesh State Council; member of the manufacturing committee of FICCI; and member of the AP state advisory board of WWF-India.
 
Look out for the Big Interview in the October 2015 issue of PrintWeek India