Indian Chemical Industry

Abstract

In nearly 1940s, I was a young child who suffered several bouts of malaria. The only drug available at the time was quinine which was sold in the local post office. No doubt it helped as a cure, but many also died of malaria. I also realized if anybody contacted TB, they would die in a short time. The other prominent disease was smallpox. If a patient contacts smallpox their survival rate was very slim. People believed that it was due to the curse of the local Goddess, and they would perform rituals, poojas and prayers for eradicating the disease. I can go on mentioning the gamut of the health problems that people were facing during those times. The life expectancy during those years was less than 40 years. Today the situation is totally different. Malaria as well as TB are no more dreadful diseases. They can be cured with proper medication. Smallpox has been almost totally eradicated from the world due to vaccination programs. Thus, the health of humanity has improved, and the life expectancy has gone up well beyond 70 years. How has this happened? This is due to the relentless efforts of chemical and pharmaceutical industries. We now live in a world with lifesaving drugs, where many are available as generics - off patent drugs available at a much affordable price. Even in India, domestic chemical manufacturers provide various fertilizers, agrochemicals for our food. We use colouring material such as dyes and pigments to colour fabrics and for a variety of other uses. The polymer industry has grown and entered every aspect of our lives, from packing water, milk, and food, for the clothes we wear, furniture, automobiles, machines and electronics we use are made from plastics. The list is long.