The pulp and paper industry is a large manufacturing segment in India, with mostly the papers produced in the packaging industry. There are many interesting facts about the Indian Paper Industry about how writing is manufactured and raw materials used. The Paper Industry in India has grown tremendously over the years, with an increase in production from 20.37 million tonnes in 2017 – 2018 to 25 million tonnes in 2019-2020. Hence, the rate of growth of the paper industry is almost 10% per annum. Paper has multiple applications used in writing, newspaper, packaging, tissue papers, face wipes, paper cups etc. The article highlights some essential details on the paper industry and its manufacturing. 

Important facts about the Indian Paper Industry

  • The total share of India in the paper market on a global level is 5%. As per reports and statistics, the per capita consumption of paper in India is 15kg, much less than the global average of 57kg. 
  • The estimated annual turnover of the paper industry in India is INR 70,000 crore, with a domestic market size of INR 80,000 crores. The contribution of the paper industry towards the exchequer is INR 5,000 crore, 
  • The old paper mills used different types of raw materials to manufacture paper. 
  • Interestingly, the Indian paper industry is where the first machine manufacturing machine was set up in 1812. The first paper mill established in India was at Serampore in West Bengal. However, due to a lack of demand, the paper mill and its business failed. 
  • The second industry was set up in 1870 at Ballygunj, and this led to the birth of the core paper Industry in India. 
  • As per the geographical location, Maharashtra is the major paper producing state. Maharashtra consists of the largest number of paper mills and produces the majority percentage of paper in India. 
  • The Indian paper industry’s annual turnover of 700 billion INR provides over 0.5 million individuals direct employment. 
  • The overall consumption of paper is expected to hit 24 million tonnes in 2024 – 25. In the past 5 to 7 years, more than 5 USD billion investment has been made towards the paper industry for setting up state of the art infrastructure. 

Raw Materials used in the Production of Paper 

  • The paper in India is made from several raw materials, out of which 21% of the paper is made of hardwood and bamboo fibre. However, it is estimated that nearly 8% of the paper is made from agro-waste, and the rest, 71% is from recycled fibre. 
  • The most commonly used raw material for manufacturing paper includes recycled fibre, bamboo, wheat straw, rice husk, bagasse, etc. 
  • The development of the Indian Handmade Paper Industry has increased due to the use of recycled paper in the manufacturing of paper. 
  • There are nearly 800 to 850 paper mills spread across India, dependent on the agroforestry produce and farming community for the raw material. 
  • One fact about the Indian paper industry is the scarcity of wood fibre which is one of the most important raw materials for manufacturing paper. As India has a deficit in wood fibre production, it creates a drawback for the Paper industry in India. 

There are facts about the Indian paper industry that show that India’s paper industry is largely dependent on the rural agro-industry. Nearly 1,200,000 hectares of land are used to produce pulpwood used in paper production. Almost 90% of the wood raw material used in manufacturing paper is used from agro/farm forestry. 

The untapped potential of the Handmade paper industry 

There is a high demand for palpable wood for paper manufacturing, and the requirement is about 11 million tonnes per annum, which is further expected to increase. Hence, this has led to the development of the Indian Handmade Paper Industry and increased paper production from recycled waste. Due to the scarcity of wood raw material, handmade paper units are becoming increasingly popular. Due to a shortage of raw materials, the handmade paper industry relies on secondary resources. 

The development of the handmade paper industry majorly relies on non-forest raw materials. There is an increase in the recycling of the existing paper or waste, which helps produce recycled paper. The use of in-plant recycling is one of the factors and infrastructural setup used in handmade paper production. The large-scale units use nearly 2.5 tonnes of forest-based raw material to produce 1 tonne of paper, whereas the handmade units just use 60 to 300 tonnes per year. 

Conclusion 

The facts about the Indian Paper Industry help clarify many related myths related to the industry, especially regarding deforestation. The history of the paper mill and industry establishment dates back to 1812, and since then, there have been many changes and technological advancement. The Paper Industry in India majorly uses raw materials obtained from agro-forest farming. The trees from which the wood fibre is obtained for paper production are cultivated and harvested. In summary, irrespective of the growth in the paper industry, India produces only 5% of the paper on a global level. The topic has all the information regarding the facts about the Indian Paper industry, raw material used, and total production and use.