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Will cement demand grow post-pandemic?

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Cement is a typically cyclical sector that has weathered many an economic storm. And with the world reeling under the Covid-19, everyone is waiting and watching how the sector will react. India is the second largest producer of cement in the world and the second largest consumer (next to China in both cases). The sector plays a significant part in the growth story of Indian economy, providing employment to over a million people, directly or indirectly. And over the past few years, it has witnessed a lot of consolidation: Today, the top 20 cement companies account for almost 70% of the total cement production in the country.

FIRST Construction Council in association with Indian Cement Review organised the 11th Cement Expo Plus Online on March 17. The virtual event involved the 6th Indian Cement Review Conference 2021 that focused on three sessions:

  • Will cement demand grow post the pandemic?

  • Opportunities for automation and digital transformation

  • Using municipal solid waste as fuel in the kiln

The conference was followed by the 4th Indian Cement Review Awards 2021 that will recognise and reward India?? Fastest Growing Cement companies.

Chief Guest Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India, shared his message with the industry, probing the central question, ??an we make everything Atmanirbhar???/p>

For full report on Chief Guest?? address, click here.

In his inaugural address, Pratap Padode, Founder & President, FIRST Construction Council, pointed out that ??ement production has been falling, which could indicate that the pent up demand has already been exhausted.??/p>

A large number of stakeholders from the industry participated and spoke:

Arun Attri, Vice President-IT, Wonder Cement
Ashok Kumar Dembla, President & Managing Director, KHD Humboldt Wedag
BN Mohapatra, Director General, NCCBM,
Mayank D Kamdar, Marketing Director, Lilanand Magnesites
Michel Folliet, CEO Co-Founder, Pantheum Solutions
Nitesh Jain, Director, CRISIL Ratings
Palash Kumar Saha, Research Scientist, SINTEF Building & Infrastructure
Pawan Mathur, Vice President & Head-Automation, UltraTech
Rajnish Kapoor, Head-Grey Cement, JK Cement
Rishi Fogla, Executive Director, Fogla Corp
Sandeep Ramprasad, Global Service Product Manager, Cement Industry, ABB
Shreesh Khadilkar, Consultant
Shyam Asawa, President-Projects, Orient Cement
Srikanth Sola, CEO & Co-Founder, Devic Earth
Ulhas Parlikar, Global Consultant, Waste Management, Circular Economy, Policy Advocacy, AFR & Co-Processing

Find out who walked away with the 4th Indian Cement Review Awards. Read full article, view event video here.

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Concrete

Molecor Renews OCS Europe Certification Across Spanish Plants

Certification reinforces commitment to preventing microplastic pollution

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Molecor has renewed its OCS Europe certification for another year across all its production facilities in Spain under the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) voluntary initiative, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The renewal underlines the company’s continued focus on preventing the unintentional release of plastic particles during manufacturing, with particular attention to safeguarding marine ecosystems from microplastic pollution.

All Molecor plants in Spain have been compliant with OCS Europe standards for several years, implementing best practices designed to avoid pellet loss and the release of plastic particles during the production of PVC pipes and fittings. The OCS-based management system enables the company to maintain strict operational controls while aligning with evolving regulatory expectations on microplastic prevention.

The renewed certification also positions Molecor ahead of newly published European regulations. The company’s practices are aligned with Regulation (EU) 2025/2365, recently adopted by the European Parliament, which sets out requirements to prevent pellet loss and reduce microplastic pollution across industrial operations.

Extending its sustainability commitment beyond its own operations, Molecor is actively engaging its wider value chain by informing suppliers and customers of its participation in the OCS programme and encouraging responsible microplastic management practices. Through these efforts, the company contributes directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 ‘Life below water’, reinforcing its role as a responsible industrial manufacturer committed to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability.

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Concrete

Coforge Launches AI-Led Data Cosmos Analytics Platform

New cloud-native platform targets enterprise data modernisation and GenAI adoption

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Coforge Limited has recently announced the launch of Coforge Data Cosmos, an AI-enabled, cloud-native data engineering and advanced analytics platform aimed at helping enterprises convert fragmented data environments into intelligent, high-performance data ecosystems. The platform strengthens Coforge’s technology stack by introducing a foundational innovation layer that supports cloud-native, domain-specific solutions built on reusable blueprints, proprietary IP, accelerators, agentic components and industry-aligned capabilities.

Data Cosmos is designed to address persistent enterprise challenges such as data fragmentation, legacy modernisation, high operational costs, limited self-service analytics, lack of unified governance and the complexity of GenAI adoption. The platform is structured around five technology portfolios—Supernova, Nebula, Hypernova, Pulsar and Quasar—covering the full data transformation lifecycle, from legacy-to-cloud migration and governance to cloud-native data platforms, autonomous DataOps and scaled GenAI orchestration.

To accelerate speed-to-value, Coforge has introduced the Data Cosmos Toolkit, comprising over 55 IPs and accelerators and 38 AI agents powered by the Data Cosmos Engine. The platform also enables Galaxy solutions, which combine industry-specific data models with the core technology stack to deliver tailored solutions across sectors including BFS, insurance, travel, transportation and hospitality, healthcare, public sector and retail.

“With Data Cosmos, we are setting a new benchmark for how enterprises convert data complexity into competitive advantage,” said Deepak Manjarekar, Global Head – Data HBU, Coforge. “Our objective is to provide clients with a fast, adaptive and AI-ready data foundation from day one.”

Supported by a strong ecosystem of cloud and technology partners, Data Cosmos operates across multi-cloud and hybrid environments and is already being deployed in large-scale transformation programmes for global clients.

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Concrete

India, Sweden Launch Seven Low-Carbon Steel, Cement Projects

Joint studies to cut industrial emissions under LeadIT

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India and Sweden have announced seven joint projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the steel and cement sectors, with funding support from India’s Department of Science and Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency.

The initiatives, launched under the LeadIT Industry Transition Partnership, bring together major Indian companies including Tata Steel, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel and Power, and Prism Johnson, alongside Swedish technology firms such as Cemvision, Kanthal and Swerim. Leading Indian academic institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Hyderabad, are also participating.

The projects will undertake pre-pilot feasibility studies on a range of low-carbon technologies. These include the use of hydrogen in steel rotary kilns, recycling steel slag for green cement production, and applying artificial intelligence to optimise concrete mix designs. Other studies will explore converting blast furnace carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide for reuse and assessing electric heating solutions for steelmaking.

India’s steel sector currently accounts for about 10–12 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, while cement contributes nearly 6 per cent. Globally, heavy industry is responsible for roughly one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and consumes around one-third of total energy.

The collaboration aims to develop scalable, low-carbon industrial technologies that can support India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070. As part of the programme, Tata Steel and Cemvision will examine methods to convert steel slag into construction materials, creating a circular value chain for industrial byproducts.

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