India, being the second largest cement producer in the world after China with a total capacity of 151.2 Million Tons (MT), has got a huge cement industry. With the government of India giving boost to various infrastructure projects, housing facilities and road networks, the cement industry in India is currently growing at an enviable pace. More growth in the Indian cement industry is expected in the coming years. It is also predicted that the cement production in India would rise to 236.16 MT in FY11. It's also expected to rise to 262.61 MT in FY12
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The cement industry in India is dominated by around 20 companies, which account for almost 70% of the total cement production in India. In the present year, the Indian cement companies have produced 11 MT cement during April-September 2009. It took the total cement production in FY09 to 231 MT.
Industry Background
The history of the cement industry in India dates back to the 1889 when a Kolkata-based company started manufacturing cement from Argillaceous. But the industry started getting the organized shape in the early 1900s. In 1914, India Cement Company Ltd was established in Porbandar with a capacity of 10,000 tons and production of 1000 installed. The World War I gave the first initial thrust to the cement industry in India and the industry started growing at a fast rate in terms of production, manufacturing units, and installed capacity. This stage was referred to as the Nascent Stage of Indian Cement Industry. In 1927, Concrete Association of India was set up to create public awareness on the utility of cement as well as to propagate cement consumption.
The cement industry in India saw the price and distribution control system in the year 1956, established to ensure fair price model for consumers as well as manufacturers. Later in 1977, government authorized new manufacturing units (as well as existing units going for capacity enhancement) to put a higher price tag for their products. A couple of years later, government introduced a three-tier pricing system with different pricing on cement produced in high, medium and low cost plants.
Cement industry, in any country, plays a major role in the growth of the nation. Cement industry in India was under full control and supervision of the government. However, it got relief at a large extent after the economic reform. But government interference, especially in the pricing, is still evident in India. In spite of being the second largest cement producer in the world, India falls in the list of lowest per capita consumption of cement with 125 kg. The reason behind this is the poor rural people who mostly live in mud huts and cannot afford to have the commodity. Despite the fact, the demand and supply of cement in India has grown up. In a fast developing economy like India, there is always large possibility of expansion of cement industry.
Cement Production and Growth
Domestic demand plays a major role in the fast growth of cement industry in India. In fact the domestic demand of cement has surpassed the economic growth rate of India. The cement consumption is expected to rise more than 22% by 2009-10 from 2007-08. In cement consumption, the state of Maharashtra leads the table with 12.18% consumption, followed by Uttar Pradesh. In terms of cement production, Andhra Pradesh leads the list with 14.72% of production, while Rajasthan remains at second position.
The production of cement in India grew at a rate of 9.1% during 2006-07 against the total production of 147.8 MT in the previous fiscal year. During April to October 2008-09, the production of cement in India was 101.04 MT comparing to 95.05 MT during the same period in the previous year. During October 2009, the total cement production in India was 12.37 MT compared to a production of 11.61 MT in the same month in the previous year. The cement companies are also increasing their productions due to the high market demand. The cement companies have seen a net profit growth rate of 85%. With this huge success, the cement industry in India has contributed almost 8% to India's economic development.
Technology Up-gradation
Cement industry in India is currently going through a technological change as a lot of upgradation and assimilation is taking place. Currently, almost 93% of the total capacity is based entirely on the modern dry process, which is considered as more environment-friendly. Only the rest 7% uses old wet and semi-dry process technology. There is also a huge scope of waste heat recovery in the cement plants, which lead to reduction in the emission level and hence improves the environment.
Cement Despatches
Cement industry in India has successfully maintained almost total capacity utilization levels, which resulted in maintaining a 10% growth rate. In 2006-07, the total despatch was 155 MT, which rose up to 170 MT in 2007-08. The month of October 2009 saw a cement despatch of 12.22 MT, which was almost 9% higher than the total cement despatch of 11.21 MT in the same month in the previous year.
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| 2008-09 (Apr-Oct) (in MT) | 2007-08 (Apr-Oct) in MT |
| Production | 101.04 | 95.05 |
| Despatches (Excluding Export) | 100.24 | 94.33 |
| Export | 1.46 | 2.16 |
| Capacity Utilization (%) | 85 | 93 |
Major Players in Indian Cement Industry
There are a number of players prevailing in the cement industry in India. However, there are around 20 big names that account for more than 70% of the total cement production in India. The total installed capacity is distributed over around 129 plants, owned by 54 major companies across the nation.
Following are some of the major names in the Indian cement industry:
| Company | Production | Installed Capacity |
| ACC | 17,902 | 18,640 |
| Gujarat Ambuja | 15,094 | 14,860 |
| UltraTech | 13,707 | 17,000 |
| Grasim | 14,649 | 14,115 |
| India Cements | 8,434 | 8,810 |
| JK Group | 6,174 | 6,680 |
| Jaypee Group | 6,316 | 6,531 |
| Century | 6,636 | 6,300 |
| Madras Cements | 4,550 | 5,470 |
| Birla Corp. | 5,150 | 5,113 |
Mergers and Acquisitions in Cement Industry in India
- UltraTech Cement is going to absorb its sister concern Samruddhi Cement to become biggest cement company in India.
- World's leading foreign funds like HSBC, ABN Amro, Fidelity, Emerging Market Fund and Asset Management Fund have together bought 7.5% of India Cements (ICL) at a cost of US$ 124.91 million.
- Cimpor, a Cement company of Portugal, has bought 53.63% stake that Grasim Industries had in Shree Digvijay Cement.
- French cement company Vicat SA bought 6.67% share of Sagar Cement at a cost of US$ 14.35 million.
- Holcim now holds 56% stake of Ambuja Cement. Previously it held 22% of stake. The company utilized various open market transactions to increase its stakes. It invested US$ 1.8 billion for that.
Recent Investments in the Indian Cement Industry
- In a recent announcement, the second largest cement company in South India, Dalmia Cement declared that it's going to invest more than US$ 652.6 million in the next 2-3 years to add 10 MT capacity.
- Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure is going to build up cement plants with a total capacity of yearly 20 MT in the next 5 years. For this, the company will invest US$ 2.1 billion.
- India Cements is going to set up 2 thermal power plants in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at a cost of US$ 104 billion.
- Anil Ambani-led Reliance Cementation is also going to set up a 5 MT integrated cement plant in Maharashtra. It will invest US$ 463.2 million for that.
- Jaiprakash Associates Ltd has signed a MoU with Assam Mineral Development Corporation Limited to set up a 2 MT cement plant. The estimated project cost is US$ 221.36 million.
- Rungta Mines (RML) is also planning to invest US$ 123 million for setting up a 1 MT cement plant in Orissa.
