India loses Rs 2 trillion annually to corrosion of infrastructure: Government

NEW DELHI: India is losing Rs 2 lakh crore annually due to corrosion of infrastructure and other vital installations and government will soon set up a separate body to deal with the issue, a senior official said today.

The body wopuld be set up as a part of a national chemical policy which would be announced soon, Chemicals and Fertilizers Secretary Surjit K Chaudhary said at CII event here.

"The Bureau of Corrosion control will help setting up standards for various chemicals, products and machinery to fight corrosion, which is eating up major part of our economy," the Secretary said.

"The much required National Chemical Policy is at the verge of implementation. All necessary groundwork is complete," he said.

Noting that corrosion has a huge economic and environmental impact on all kinds of infrastructure, Chaudhary said: "India loses Rs 2 trillion (USD 40 billion) every year due to corrosion of infrastructure, industrial equipment and other vital installations."

In addition to causing severe damage and threat to public safety, corrosion especially in coastal states -- where salt content is high - disrupts operations and requires extensive repair and replacement of failed assets, he added.

Speaking on the issue, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at US embassy John McCaslin exported the Indian government and industry to urgently formalise national standards for mitigating corrosion.

"Much information and expertise on corrosion related issues is available in the country, however, it is confined to certain pockets and areas of the industry. Government-Industry partnership could be a good solution for sustaining benefits of anti-corrosion technologies being propagated through training and certification programmes," he said.