Chemical companies in India

NSE's classification splits the sector into two industries. Chemicals & Petrochemicals holds commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals, petrochemicals, carbon black, dyes and pigments, industrial gases and commercial explosives. Fertilizers & Agrochemicals holds makers of plant nutrients and of crop protection products such as pesticides and herbicides.

An industry filter narrows the table to either industry.

Commodity chemicals are made in large volumes to a standard grade, such as caustic soda, soda ash and methanol. Specialty chemicals are made in smaller volumes to a customer's specification, for use in coatings, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and electronics.

Input costs matter most. Many chemicals start from crude oil, natural gas, coal or salt, so feedstock prices move costs and selling prices together. Demand follows the industries that buy the products: construction, textiles, auto, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.

Trade policy also shapes the sector. India applies anti-dumping duties on many chemical imports, often from China, which raise the landed price of competing imports.

Fertilizer makers work under a different rule: the government fixes the retail price of urea and pays makers a subsidy on it, and pays a per-nutrient subsidy on phosphatic and potassic fertilizers, so subsidy payments matter alongside volumes and input costs.

Companies are ranked by market cap: share price multiplied by the number of shares. The summary shows medians, the middle company's figure: P/E is market cap divided by the last four quarters' profit, and P/B is market cap divided by net worth attributable to the company's own shareholders.

ROCE, return on capital employed, is operating profit after depreciation, leaving out other income and one-offs, divided by net worth including minority interests plus borrowings. Lease liabilities are not counted.

NSE Indices maintains the Nifty Chemicals index, launched on 11 Mar 2025 with a base date of 1 Apr 2005. It holds up to 20 chemical companies from the Nifty 500, chosen by free-float market cap, the value of shares available to trade, so it covers only the largest companies on this page.