Economy & Market

Dissecting the Indian stimulus package

Published

7 years ago

January 6, 2020

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Covid-19 has taken the economy off the cliff; recent enquiry by most of the banks and economists have put a tag of 3 to 5 per cent drop in the GDP for the full year, these numbers for the moment are not improving after the stimulus but actually deteriorating. Did something go wrong in the stimulus?

Well first of all any stimulus package has two components, the monetary component, which acts on the supply side and a fiscal component, which acts on the demand side as when additional spend items from the side of the government happens due to additional cash deployed from the government, the economic activities see a fresh lease of life. But this would mean additional cash spending that can only come from additional loans taken by the government over and above the existing ones at play.

Take the US stimulus, the first tranche of $2 trillion, which is 10 per cent of GDP and it is a great way to see how the stimulus works. Half of this is actually monetary in nature, these are loans, $500 billion for large businesses and $367 billion for small businesses and $150 billion to State and local governments. This makes 5 per cent of GDP. It will strengthen the supply side. The balance 5 per cent of GDP is actually cash transfers directly to the people ($1,200 for each adult and $500 for each child).

The whole stimulus package is worth one paragraph. The fiscal action of actually spending by the government is done though cash directly to the populace who can spend. But the Indian stimulus consisting of several tranches makes it difficult to dissect what is fiscal and what is monetary and what is reallocation of existing resources.

Let us take the overall numbers of the Indian stimulus package. The overall pledge of Rs 20 lakh crore looks just the kind of stimulus that India actually needs. But the stimulus is directed to monetary release, which by the way has been tried by RBI for the past several months to stimulate supply but the transmission channels showed no traction. The total pledge by the government is a staggering Rs 11.43 lakh crore and adding Rs 40,000 crore of MGNREGS it takes the tally to Rs 11.83 lakh crore of pledges, while the balance of the Rs 20 lakh crore is reallocation of resources.

But surprisingly, the real cash outgo is just Rs 1.37 lakh crore, this is not even 1 per cent of GDP.

The real cash outflow is what really matters now. Think of the US stimulus and the immediate cash outflow was 5 per cent of the GDP as direct payments to the people; the business loans and those to the State governments also released a significant chunk of the funds immediately (at least the ones to the airlines and hospitality sector was immediate). If I tried to dissect the myriad of initiatives that got added in the tranches like the Coal evacuation initiatives, that would add another Rs 50,000 crore as a fiscal stimulus taking the tally to Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

So the 10 per cent stimulus effectively comes to less than 1 per cent of actual cash release. This is the amount that the government is going to draw additional to what it is already committed to draw this year. This is all that will change in terms of the government’s fiscal position.

Isn’t it too little and how much of that is going to the most distressed people, the migrants, who have returned to their homeland? Well, giving food to them is the right thing to do, but is it a stimulus, that is a million dollar question; most of the purported items in the stimulus appear to be reallocation of resources.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Procyon Mukherjee works as Chief Procurement Officer at LafargeHolcim India. The ideas presented are his personal and have no connection to the beliefs of the company where he works.

Concrete

Wonder Cement appoints Mahesh Singh as VP Corporate Brand Communication

Published

5 days ago

October 9, 2026

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Singh brings 20+ years of brand and marketing experience, and will lead integrated corporate brand communication initiatives at Wonder Cement

New Delhi

Wonder Cement, a leading cement manufacturer, has appointed Mahesh Singh as Vice President – Corporate Brand Communication. In his new role, he will oversee corporate brand strategy and communication, including digital and performance marketing, public relations, trade, events, exhibitions, sports and experiential marketing.

Singh brings over two decades of experience across marketing and communications, with roles spanning the automotive industry, agencies and entrepreneurship. He spent more than a decade with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, working across integrated communication, media, digital, retail and consumer engagement. His stint also included helping build the company’s digital marketing capabilities.

He moved to dentsu X India as Vice President – Strategy & Planning, working across categories such as automotive, auto components, electric vehicles, FMCG, consumer electronics, BFSI, apparel and brand consulting. His responsibilities included media and marketing strategy, product launches, content, performance marketing and consumer activations.

Singh subsequently took an entrepreneurial route with Radiant Brands before joining Shriram Ltd (SPR Autotech) as Head – Marketing & Communications. There, his remit included brand and corporate strategy, communications, PR and ORM, retail identity, loyalty programmes and events.

At Wonder Cement, Singh will be responsible for bringing together the company’s corporate brand communication initiatives across digital, performance marketing, PR, trade, sports and experiential platforms. The role will focus on creating an integrated approach to communication across consumers, trade partners and other key stakeholders.

The appointment brings to Wonder Cement a marketer whose career has spanned the brand, agency and entrepreneurial sides of the communications ecosystem.

Wonder Cement, part of the RK Group, is a cement manufacturer with roots in Rajasthan and a focus on quality, trust and transparency. The company has grown to six manufacturing plants, and a cement capacity of 21.5 MTPA. With more than 2,000 employees and a network of over 5,000 dealers, its operations span manufacturing, distribution and customer engagement, with a focus on consistent product quality and efficient execution.

Concrete

JSW Cement commissions additional 1 MTPA grinding unit at Nagaur

Published

6 days ago

October 8, 2026

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With this commissioning, JSW Cement’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 25.10 MTPA,
Mumbai

JSW Cement, one of India’s leading green cement producers and part of the diversified JSW Group, today announced the successful commissioning of an additional 1.00 MTPA cement grinding unit at Nagaur, Rajasthan. The commissioning marks another significant milestone in the Company’s growth strategy.

With this commissioning, JSW Cement’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 25.10 MTPA, while its total clinker manufacturing capacity, including clinker capacity at its joint venture, JSW Cement FZC, stands at 9.74 MTPA.

JSW Cement had commenced operations in North India in March 2026 with the Nagaur Integrated Plant, comprising a 3.30 MTPA clinkerisation unit and 2.50 MTPA cement grinding unit. With the commissioning of the additional 1.00 MTPA cement grinding unit, the plant’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 3.50 MTPA, enhancing the company’s ability to cater to the growing cement demand across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the National Capital Region (NCR). The expansion has been funded through a strategic mix of equity and long-term debt.

During the quarter ended 30th September 2026, JSW Cement has also commissioned the Alternate Fuel Handling System and the Waste Heat Recovery system (WHRS) at the Nagaur Integrated Plant.

Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement, said: “The commissioning of additional 1.00 MTPA grinding capacity at Nagaur is a key strategic priority for us and will accelerate JSW Cement’s expansion into North India. We look forward to servicing the growing needs of the region and contributing to the economic growth of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the NCR area. I am delighted to share that the company has commissioned this grinding unit within the expected timeline, showcasing our project execution capabilities. Further, the Alternate Fuel Handling System and the Waste Heat Recovery system (WHRS) are expected to substantially reduce our production costs going forward.”

Concrete

UltraTech becomes first Indian cement firm to cross 2 GW green energy

Published

1 week ago

October 7, 2026

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UltraTech Cement has crossed 2 GW of captive green energy capacity, with renewables and waste heat recovery meeting 48 per cent of its power needs.

Mumbai

UltraTech Cement Limited has surpassed 2 GW of installed green energy capacity for captive use, becoming the first cement company in India to achieve the milestone. The Aditya Birla Group company commissioned 116.55 MW of wind capacity at its Inter-State Transmission System-connected wind-solar hybrid project in Barmer, Rajasthan, along with 10 MW of Waste Heat Recovery System capacity at Sarlanagar Cement Works in Karnataka.

With these additions, UltraTech’s cumulative installed green energy capacity has reached 2,024 MW. This includes 1,580 MW of renewable energy capacity and 444 MW of waste heat recovery capacity, together meeting around 48 per cent of the company’s current power requirements.

The company said the milestone reflects the progress of its long-term energy transition strategy. In FY27 so far, nearly one-third of UltraTech’s 76 manufacturing units in India have maintained green energy utilisation above 50 per cent of their electricity requirements, while five units have crossed 95 per cent.

K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement Limited, said, “Crossing the 2 GW green energy milestone is the result of a strategy we have pursued consistently over the past decade. Cement is an energy-intensive, hard-to-abate sector, and showing that reliability and growth can go hand in hand with a rapid shift to green energy sets a benchmark for the industry. With nearly half of our power needs now met through green energy, we are significantly less exposed to fossil fuel supply constraints and power price volatility. As we scale up renewables, waste heat recovery and battery storage across our operations, we are building an energy foundation for stable, long-term growth.”

UltraTech commissioned 430 MW of green energy capacity in FY26 and continues to expand its renewable energy and waste heat recovery portfolio.

The company is also progressively integrating Battery Energy Storage Systems across its operations to improve renewable energy utilisation and supply reliability.

In 2025, UltraTech operationalised what it described as India’s first on-site hybrid round-the-clock renewable energy project at Sewagram Cement Works in Gujarat. The project combines solar, wind and battery storage.

As part of its decarbonisation strategy, UltraTech said it has not invested in new captive thermal power capacity for either greenfield projects or brownfield expansions at its integrated units for more than a decade.

The company said its expanding green energy portfolio is helping reduce dependence on conventional grid electricity and fossil fuel-based power, while lowering exposure to fluctuations in coal and electricity prices.

UltraTech aims to increase green energy’s share in its total power mix to 85 per cent by 2030. As a member of RE100, it has also committed to meeting 100 per cent of its electricity requirement through renewable sources by 2050.

UltraTech Cement, the cement flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has a total grey cement capacity of 210.1 MTPA and white cement and putty capacity of 3.5 MTPA. The company is also a signatory to the GCCA Climate Ambition 2050 and has committed to the GCCA Net Zero Concrete roadmap.