India's cement industry weathers downturn

The glue that holds the infrastructure sector is cement and the growth of Cement Industry is directly linked to the growth of infrastructure sector. India today is the second fastest growing economy in the world with the cement and construction sector being the prime movers. The Indian cement industry with a total installed capacity of 219 million tonnes is the second largest producer in the world and has been growing at a rate of 9 to 10 per cent per annum. With a large percentage of Indian population being below the age of 25, the construction activity is expected to make a significant contribution in the context of growing housing needs, development of roads and other infrastructure, urbanization, etc.

It is the construction sector which shares the blame of global economic slowdown leading to slackening of demand for housing; but withstanding that hard time, our cement sector is still growing at a 10 per cent when compared to the global average of 5 per cent. Indian Industry is fortunate in having an active support and services of the National Council for Cement & Building Materials with an excellent R&D Infrastructure and invaluable intellectual capital.

In a recent International Seminar on Cement & Building Materials in New Delhi, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, said: “In spite of global slowdown and reduction in demand, cement industry needs to be complimented for weathering the downturn and recording a commendable growth of around 8 per cent in 2007-08 as well as in 2008-09. In the current year 2009-10 so far, the pace of growth of cement industry has accelerated significantly above double digit.”

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