Economy & Market

Swamy seeks ban on cement import from Pakistan

Published

9 years ago

October 9, 2016

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Amid rising Indo-Pak tension, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban import of cement from Pakistan in the interest of domestic industry and national security.
"I request you to ban import of cement into the country not only in the interest of growth and sustenance of domestic cement industry but also in keeping with the imperatives of national security. Ban of import from Pakistan will be in the interest of the country’s security in the present juncture," Swamy said in a letter to Modi.
He said the import of cement without levy of customs duty was introduced in 2007 to augment supply in view of high demand.
He said the situation has since changed and the domestic industry has added a lot of capacity which is not being utilised, with around 116 million tonnes cement capacity lying idle due to stagnating demand in the country.
He also referred to reports of "recovery of drugs like heroin and fake Indian currency notes concealed in cement bags imported from Pakistan."
"Allowing imports of cement from Pakistan, therefore, carried with it the additional risk in that it provides an effective cover for smuggling of contraband goods and harmful weapons and ammunition concealed in cement bags which comes in rakes and trucks, in the hands of disruptionist elements," he said.
Source: ECONOMIC TIMES (257236)

Concrete

Cement industry to gain from new infrastructure spending

Published

7 days ago

July 24, 2025

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As per a news report, Karan Adani, ACC Chair, has said that he expects the cement industry to benefit from the an anticipated US$2.2tn in new public infrastructure spending between 2025 and 2030. In a statement he said that ACC has crossed the 100Mt/yr cement capacity milestone in April 2025, propelling the company to get closer to its ambitious 140Mt/yr target by the 2028 financial year. The company’s capacity corresponds to 15 per cent of an all-India installed capacity of 686Mt/yr.

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Concrete

AI boom drives demand, says ACA

Published

7 days ago

July 24, 2025

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The American Cement Association projects a nearly 1Mt annual increase in US cement demand over the next three years, driven by the surge in AI data centres. Consumption by data centres is expected to grow from 247,000 tonnes in 2025 to 860,000 tonnes by 2027. With over 5,400 AI data centres currently operating and numbers forecast to exceed 6,000 by 2027, the association cautions that regulatory hurdles and labour shortages may impact the industry’s ability to meet demand.

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Concrete

GoldCrest Cement to build plant in India

Published

1 week ago

July 23, 2025

admin

GoldCrest Cement will build a greenfield integrated plant with a 3.5Mt/yr clinker capacity and 4.5Mt/yr cement capacity. GoldCrest Cement appointed Humboldt Wedag India as engineering, procurement and construction contractor in March 2025 and targets completion by March 2027. It has signed a 40-year supply agreement with Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation for 150Mt of limestone from its upcoming Lakhpat Punrajpur mine in Gujarat.