Cement industry in India

Last Updated: May 2013

Introduction
The cement sector notably plays a critical role in the economic growth of the country and its journey towards
conclusive growth. Cement is vital to the construction sector and all infrastructural projects. The construction sector
alone constitutes 7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The industry occupies an important place
in the Indian economy because of its strong linkages to other sectors such as construction, transportation, coal and
power.
India is the second largest producer of quality cement in the world. The cement industry in India comprises 183 large
cement plants and over 365 mini cement plants. Currently there are 40 players in the industry across the country.
The cement industry in India is experiencing a boom on account of overall growth in the economy. The demand for
cement, being a derived one, depends mainly on the industrial activities, real estate business, construction activities
and investment in the infrastructure sector.
The Indian cement industry is involved in production of several types of cement such as Ordinary Portland Cement
(OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PBFS), Oil Well Cement, Rapid
Hardening Portland Cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement, White Cement, etc. They are produced strictly as
per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications and their quality is comparable with the best in the world.
Indian cement majorsACC Ltd, Shree Cement Ltd and Ultratechhave signed a cooperation pact to support low-
carbon investments in India. The pact was signed in Geneva with member companies of the World Business Council
(WBC) for Sustainable Developments Cement Sustainability Initiative and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Under the pact, a Low Carbon Technology Roadmap for the Indian cement industry is to be launched this year-end.
The roadmap will outline a possible transition path for the cement industry to reduce its direct emissions by 18 per
cent by 2050.
Market Size
The cement industry of India is expected to add 30-40 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of capacity in 2013. The
industry has a current capacity of 324 MTPA and operates at 75-80 per cent utilisation.
"It is anticipated that the cement industry players will continue to increase their annual cement output in coming years
and the country's cement production will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 12 per cent
during 2011-12 - 2013-14 to reach 303 million metric tonne (MMT)," according to a report titled 'Indian Cement
Industry Forecast to 2012', by research firm RNCOS.
Investments
The cement and gypsum products sector has attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) worth Rs 11,779.04 crore
(US$ 2.12 billion) between April 2000 to February 2013, according to the data published by the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Some of the major investments in the sector are as follows:
Barings Private Equity Asia has picked up a 14 per cent minority stake in the Indian unit of cement major
Lafarge, for Rs 1,427 crore (US$ 257.11 million)
Sinoma International Engineering (Hong Kong) Ltd, a part of the Chinese state-run National Materials Group
Corp, has entered the Indian cement equipment industry by acquiring a majority stake in Chennai-based
equipment manufacturer LNV Technology Ltd
Dalmia Cement plans to invest Rs 1,800 crore (US$ 324.32 million) to increase the company's cement
manufacturing capacity over the next two years. The company also plans to set up a 2.5 million tonne (MT)
greenfield unit in Karnataka
Ambuja Cements Ltd plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 360.33 million) to enhance its cement capacities
in Rajasthan and northern region. The proposed project at Rajasthan would add five MT capacity to the total
cement production of India
Reliance Cement Company Pvt Ltd (RCC), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, has commenced
production of cement from its first manufacturing unit at Butibori, Nagpur in Maharashtra