The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers organized the inaugural edition of CHEMCONNECT 2026 at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on August 25, 2026. The event was attended by over 200 leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs across industry, academia, start-ups, and research institutions, including representatives from the Centres of Excellence established by the Department.
Shri Tejveer Singh, Secretary of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, inaugurated the event and launched the Centre of Excellence on Biodegradable Packaging Materials (BioPack) at IIT Madras. The BioPack facility will serve as a hub for sustainable innovation, capacity building, and advanced research in eco-friendly packaging capabilities.
In his inaugural address, Shri Tejveer Singh emphasized the critical role of the chemical sector as a foundational driver feeding into virtually every manufacturing segment of the economy. He highlighted that as India advances toward achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047, strengthening industry-academia partnerships is vital to translate laboratory research into commercially viable products. The Secretary underscored the imperative of import substitution, noting that goods must be processed domestically to foster greater self-reliance. He expressed confidence that targeted R&D and industry-backed research clusters will expand India's global footprint and announced that CHEMCONNECT will become an annual fixture held every July–August to benchmark progress across all the Centres of Excellence.
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, detailed the importance of institutional synergies in taking technology to its logical fruition and assured full support to the chemical sector through reverse pitching, where industry presents its problems to research institutions. Dr. G. Venkatesh, Joint Secretary, outlined the vision of the Centre of Excellence scheme, while Prof. Shishir Sinha, Director General of CIPET, highlighted the initiative's alignment with national development goals. The Secretary, DCPC along with Director IIT Madras also released the compendium of CHEMCONNECT 2026.