Japanese paper products firm Curetex Corp. has entered India to meet growing demand for paper bags in the wake of successive state-level bans on plastic bags across the South Asian country, a top company official has said.

The Tokyo-based firm has established local unit Natsu Enterprises India Pvt. Ltd. and is scouting for a local partner to form a manufacturing joint venture, said Shivinder Singh, director of the unit.

Masaki Fujishiro, chairman of the Japanese company, and other top officials recently visited India to discuss possible collaboration and meet with Parveen Aggarwal, president of India's Offset Printers Association.

Aggarwal said that India's paper bag market is growing following a series of bans on plastic grocery bags in 17 of the 36 total states and union territories.

"Most of the paper bags in India are prepared manually, making it difficult for local companies to meet increasing demand," Singh said. "To address this challenge, we are planning to introduce our automatic solutions in the local market."

According to Singh, the company is thinking of either transferring technology to an Indian machinery manufacturer or creating a joint venture with a local packaging or printing company.

"We also plan to meet overseas demand for paper bags, keeping upcoming mega-events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mind," he said. "There's going to be quite a spike in demand for paper bags during the event, which can be a good opportunity for the local manufacturing unit here."

According to the Indian government, the 17 regions have already imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, stock, sale and use of plastic bags. An estimated 25,940 tons of plastic waste gets generated per day in India, according to the latest government data.