India is the fastest growing market for paper globally and it presents an exciting scenario and we are seeing a growth of around 6-7%. Paper consumption is poised for a big leap forward in sync with the economic growth. It is now a vast industry comprising more than 750 pulp and paper mills, providing employment to more than 0.5 million people directly and 1.5 million people indirectly. The Indian Paper Industry accounts for about 3% of the world's production of paper, meeting not only the domestic demand but also making it one of the leading exporters.
The domestic market/consumption of paper is over 16 million tonnes per annum (TPA), with over 2 million TPA being imported. By 2024-25, under the baseline scenario, domestic consumption is projected to rise to 23.50 million TPA (in the optimistic scenario, consumption is expected to rise to 36.90 million TPA by 2024-25).
Due to growth in literacy, change in lifestyle and increasing consciousness for personal hygiene, per capita consumption of paper and tissue in India is increasing day by day and expected to increase by 1 kg that will increase Paper Production by 1 million tons. Though India's per capita consumption is quite low compared to global peers, things are looking up and demand is set to rise to an estimated 20 mt by 2020. Current demand for wood by Paper industry is about 11 million TPA, against domestic availability of 9 million TPA, and is projected to rise to 15 million TPA by 2024-25.
The growth in GDP of India has led to the increase in manufacturing activities, increasing the demand for paper products especial the paper boards for carrying out wide range of activities ranging from packaging to storage, transportation and lot more.