Cluster-based industrial parks are central to India's ambition to become a global chemicals hub. Examine the design of the BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme and the challenges it faces in implementation.

India is the world's sixth-largest chemical producer, and the sector contributes about 7% of GDP [3]. Even so, it ran a USD 31 bn trade deficit in 2023 because it depends on imported feedstock [4]. BHAVYA Rasayan, approved in July 2026, tries to fix this with plug-and-play chemical parks. The design is sound, but whether it succeeds depends on feedstock, how many plots fill up, and regional equity.

Design of the Scheme

• Outlay: 3 greenfield parks; ₹3,030 cr for FY27–FY31, of which ₹3,000 cr goes to common infrastructure [2].
• Co-financing: The Centre gives up to ₹1,000 cr per park if the state contributes at least ₹500 cr [2].
• Land: At least 2,000 contiguous, encumbrance-free acres, which the state acquires at its own cost [2].
• Challenge-based selection by a Steering Committee. States compete for parks, which is competitive federalism in practice [2][3].
• Shared facilities: CETP, TSDF, solvent recovery, steam and pipelines. These cut costs for each unit and give regulators one point of control for effluents [2].
• Siting: Port, rail and road connectivity is a stated criterion for choosing locations [1].

Implementation Challenges

• Empty plots: In the 10 approved Plastic Parks, only 322 of 919 plots were allotted and only 50 were working. Plastic Parks in Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka got zero allotments [5].
• Feedstock gap: The facility list has no cracker or refinery. The Andhra Pradesh PCPIR still has no anchor tenant [5]. Weak backward integration also drives the trade deficit [4].
• FTA exposure: The chemical trade deficit with FTA partners worsened after the agreements, because imports grew faster than exports [6].
• Regional disparity: Industrialised states can more easily put up ₹500 cr and 2,000 acres. Gujarat's PCPIR outperformed those in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha [5].
• Scale mismatch: ₹3,030 cr over five years [2] is small next to a USD 31 bn deficit [4]. The scheme can show that the model works, but it cannot close the deficit alone.

BHAVYA Rasayan improves on earlier schemes by being bigger, having states put money in, and choosing parks through competition. Its success should be measured by how many plots start production, not by how many parks are built. Several steps would help: require an anchor tenant before a park is chosen, release the grant in stages tied to plot occupancy, study FTA effects on chemical trade before new deals [6], and carry out the full review of the 2007 Petrochemicals Policy that Parliament's Standing Committee recommended [5]. With these, the parks can move India towards NITI Aayog's goal of a net-zero chemical trade balance [4] and Viksit Bharat 2047.