Cement Industry in India

The cement industry in India dates back to 1914, India produces over 200 million tones of cement yearly, and is second to China.

The government has given incentives to boost the cement industry in India and various projects such as construction of roads, housing and infrastructure have helped in turning the industry more of a success.

On the other hand, the government has controlled at least 55 to 60% of the total cost of production. Anticipation of infrastructure growth has aided in growth in the industry too.

Due to rising demand for cement, companies are being forced to generate more plants and increase productivity levels. The country has rich deposits of limestone that is reported to be largely unexploited.

By 2010, the industry is expected to increase in growth at the rate of 10% per year due to urbanization and cropping up of industries which require cement for building infrastructure. Primarily, cement is distributed through channels and quantity sales accounts to less than 1% of the total cement produced.

Some manufacturers who continue to dominate and enjoy a high level of equity market in the cement manufacturing in the country are binani cement, ambuia cement, India cement, J K cement, ACC ltd, and Aditya Birla group. In addition to the major manufacturers, the country has almost 300 mini plants which manufacture cement.

These mini plants were established so that they could help to locate scattered limestone reserves which are a row product for cement. However, each state has a limited number of these mini plants to avoid over mining of limestone.

In December 2008, some figures showed that the industry is still thriving despite the financial recession and this is a positive attitude towards driving the economy ahead.

Ready mix cement is one of the key products produced for local consumption. This cement mix consists of sand, aggregate, water and a blend of cement all mixed in appropriate ratios. This type of cement is preferred by many clients since it has tedious work at the building sites.

In respect to all these, there are certain challenges that the Indian government faces in production of cement such as high transport costs of cement from the manufacturer to the end destination. This is because the road transport is congested and the rail transport not adequate enough.

In the future, if the industry is to flourish, some sectors such as housing have to be encouraged to grow.