Cement is an important input for the construction industry for building houses, commercial complexes, and for infrastructure development. Cement industry accounts for the second largest share (the largest being cigarettes) of the total excise collection by the Government.India is the second largest producer and consumer of cement in the world, after China. In 2002-03, in India, the total capacity of large cement players (over 50 cement players) was at around 139 million tonnes.
(Large cement units accounted for over 95 per cent of total cement capacity). The cement consumption was around 107 million tonnes.Around 95 per cent of the total cement production is consumed domestically and the balance is exported. The important end-use sectors for cement include the housing segment (accounts for around 52 per cent of total demand), infrastructure projects and industrial projects excluding roads(around 14%) repairs and maintenance segment(around 18%) and government demand(around 15%). And demand from roads (around 1%).Cement is a key infrastructure industry.
It has been decontrolled from price and distribution on 1st March, 1989 and delicensed on 25th July, 1991. However, the performance of the industry and prices of cement are monitored regularly.Cement sector has been a beneficiary of Government's increased focus on infrastructure and housing. Cement has been witnessing a strong growth in the last two years, due to a combination of the National Highway Development Project (NHDP) and the housing boom (driven by a low interest rate regime).
The Government's infrastructure related initiatives (announced during the 2001-02 to 2003-04 period) will continue to boost cement demand.Over the next 5-6 years, the NHDP and the new project (road component alone) are expected to account for 4-5 million tonnes of cement demand every year. This could result in double-digit growth in the cement sector over the next five years.Capacity and ProductionThe cement industry comprises of 125 large cement plants with an installed capacity of 148.
28 million tonnes and more than 300 mini cement plants with an estimated capacity of 11.10 million tonnes per annum. The Cement Corporation of India, which is a Central Public Sector Undertaking, has 10 units. There are 10 large cement plants owned by various State Governments.
The total installed capacity in the country as a whole is 159.38 million tonnes. Actual cement production in 2002-03 was 111.35 million tonnes as against a production of 102.36 million tonnes in 2001-02, registering a growth rate of 8.84%.
