The Indian paper industry produced 9 million tons in 2008 with a growth rate of 7-8% as compared to 10 million tons of paper consumed that year. The largest share of produced paper is in the form of packaging grades (4.5 million tons). Majority of the paper produced in India is consumed domestically.
 
The paper industry consists of hundreds of small to medium size plants with the top 10 producers producing 20-30% of total production. Fifty percent of paper manufacturing in India is done using recovered scrap fiber. Out of this recovered fiber, 60% is imported. The United States is the largest exporter of waste paper to India with 34% of the market share, while the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe come in second with 17% and 18% respectively.

Indigenous paper collection is poor in India, accounting for 40% of recovered fiber used by paper mills. The largest grades which are recycled are old news papers (ONP) and corrugated boxes (OCC). The recycle rate in India is 30% which is quite low as compared to developed countries.

The Indian paper industry is expected to grow for the next 10 years at its current rate which would lead to a significant increase in scrap fiber required. The future may see a significant increase in domestic collections and the maturing of the indigenous business of recycling to keep up with the growth in the paper industry and to combat the increasing price of recovered paper from abroad.