At a gathering of 800 paper traders in Mumbai, the heads of JK Paper and Century Paper spoke about how the rising demand of writing and printing paper, coupled with a fall in raw material prices, have helped boost margins of Indian paper mills.

JK Paper MD Harsh Pati Singhania said, “The country’s paper industry needs investments of Rs 90,000-crore by 2030 for adding capacities to meet demand.”

The paper industry has the potential to grow as the per capita consumption of India is only 11 kgs as compared to 26 kgs in Asia and 56 kgs, globally.

The Rs 50,000-crore paper industry is providing employment to four lakh people directly and 15 lakh people indirectly, Singhania said.

Demand for better quality packaging of FMCG products marketed through organised retail, rising healthcare spends, over-the-counter medicines and increasing preference for ready-to-eat foods are the key demand drivers for paperboard.

This is getting reflected in the Rs 4,500 crore ink segment. Based on PrintWeek’s study, the big seven ink majors are bullish about India with new product launches or factory expansions. The numbers are also looking healthy for plates with a consumption of 40 mn sq/metres per annum; plus adhesives (for books and cartons) and founts, washes and miscellaneous consumables.

This Diwali season, the action is heating up. Snapdeal, in the eCommerce space has donated more than 1,42,000 stationery kits to underprivileged students. But the breaking news is: on day one of October, Snapdeal, which has rebranded and called its event “Unbox Diwali Sale” pushed 2-million items (and therefore 2-million boxes) in a single day. The top three online retailers Flipkart, Amazon India and Snapdeal are seeking to target the Rs 1,000 crore market this season.

Thanks to the trickle-down effect, for every purchase on home appliances, electronics, mobiles, home furnishings, furniture, FMCG and even the home delivered pizza – it is print that benefits.