Concrete

ACF helps over 75k people receive Covid-19 vaccination

Published

5 years ago

March 5, 2021

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Ambuja Cement foundation (ACF) has facilitated in vaccinating over 75,000 beneficiaries in Phase-2 of the national immunisation drive, including almost 70,000 at-risk community members, 621 frontline workers and staff of ACF.

The Government of India rolled out the phase-wise vaccination programme in January 2021 to reach the entire population.

ACF is working with the local government and health departments to ensure a smooth vaccination drive in rural areas, where the awareness level and reach is comparatively low. Putting light on ACF?? vaccination programmes, Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation said, ??ith our commitment towards rural communities, we immediately extended our support to our core villages when the pandemic broke out. Our collaboration in the nationwide vaccination programme is the next step to contribute to the fight against coronavirus. We believe that our contribution to the immunisation drive will help at the grassroot level in rural areas, where people don?? have access to proper health infrastructure and services.??/p>

During the preparation of the first phase, ACF followed a systematic approach with regard to the vaccination drive in its adopted villages in various states. It networked and carried out input awareness sessions first with ACF staff, village volunteers and later with the Panchayati Raj Institution members. ??e focused on behaviour change addressing the importance of the vaccine and breaking all myths and rumours amongst the beneficiaries. ACF also assisted the local health departments in mobilization of beneficiaries towards the vaccination centres reaching out to distant geographies,??Tiwari added.

In Phase-2, ACF worked on-ground in remote areas across the country, identifying and reaching out to healthcare staff, frontline workers, and aged population who fall in the category for vaccination laid down by the Government. As the government initiated Phase 2 for 60+ population and also 45 plus comorbid population, ACF through its frontline workers, started assisting in registrations, mobilization and making arrangements to avoid crowding at each centre.

ACF will continue to extend its support to the local health and government authorities in mobilizing 45 plus population to get vaccinated in Phase 3. This will ensure great coverage to people placed in the remote interiors and break the virus chain.

Concrete

UltraTech Cement FY26 PAT Crosses Rs 80 bn

Company reports record sales, profit and 200 MTPA capacity milestone

Published

4 days ago

April 29, 2026

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UltraTech Cement reported record financial performance for Q4 and FY26, supported by strong volumes, higher profitability and improved cost efficiency. Consolidated net sales for Q4 FY26 rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 254.67 billion, while PBIDT increased 20 per cent to Rs 56.88 billion. PAT, excluding exceptional items, grew 21 per cent to Rs 30.11 billion.

For FY26, consolidated net sales stood at Rs 873.84 billion, up 17 per cent from Rs 749.36 billion in FY25. PBIDT rose 32 per cent to Rs 175.98 billion, while PAT increased 36 per cent to Rs 83.05 billion, crossing the Rs 80 billion mark for the first time.

India grey cement volumes reached 42.41 million tonnes in Q4 FY26, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, with capacity utilisation at 89 per cent. Full-year India grey cement volumes stood at 145 million tonnes. Energy costs declined 3 per cent, aided by a higher green power mix of 43 per cent in Q4.

The company’s domestic grey cement capacity has crossed 200 MTPA, reaching 200.1 MTPA, while global capacity stands at 205.5 MTPA. UltraTech also recommended a special dividend of Rs 2.40 billion per share value basis equivalent to Rs 240.

Concrete

Towards Mega Batching

Optimised batching can drive overall efficiencies in large projects.

Published

5 days ago

April 28, 2026

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India’s pace of infrastructure development is pushing the construction sector to work at a significantly higher scale than previously. Tight deadlines necessitate eliminating concreting delays, especially in large and mega projects, which, in turn, imply installing the right batching plant and ensuring batching is efficient. CW explores these steps as well as the gaps in India’s batching plant market.

Choose well

Large-scale infrastructure and building projects typically involve concrete consumption exceeding 30,000-50,000 cum per annum or demand continuous, high-volume pours within compressed timelines, according to Rahul R Wadhai, DGM – Quality, Tata Projects.

Considering the daily need for concrete, “large-scale concreting involves pouring more than 1,000–2,000 cum per day while mega projects involve more than 3,000 cum per day,” says Satish R Vachhani, Advanced Concrete & Construction Consultant…

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Concrete

Andhra Offers Discom Licences To Private Firms Outside Power Sector

Policy allows firms over 300 MW to seek distribution licences

Published

6 days ago

April 27, 2026

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The Andhra Pradesh government will allow private firms that require more than 300 megawatt (MW) of power to apply for distribution licences, making the state the first to extend such licences beyond the power sector. The policy targets information technology, pharmaceuticals, steel and data centres and aims to reduce reliance on state utilities as demand rises for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Approved applicants will be able to procure electricity directly from generators through power purchase agreements, a change officials said will create more competitive tariffs and reduce supply risk. Licence holders will use the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Company (APTRANSCO) network on payment of charges and will not need a separate distribution network initially.

Licences will be granted under the Electricity Act, 2003 framework, with the Central and State electricity regulators retaining authority over terms and approvals. The recent Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 sought to lower entry barriers, enable network sharing and encourage competition, while the state commission will set floor and ceiling tariffs where multiple discoms operate.

Industry players and original equipment manufacturers welcomed the policy, saying competitive supply is vital for large data centre investments. Major projects and partnerships such as those involving Adani and Google, Brookfield and Reliance, and Meta and Sify Technologies are expected to benefit as capacity expands in the state.

Analysts noted India’s data centre capacity is forecast to reach 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and cited International Energy Agency estimates that global data centre electricity consumption could approach 945 terawatt hours by the same year. A one GW data centre needs an equivalent power allocation and one point five times the water, which authorities equated to 150 billion litres (150 bn litres).

Advisers warned that distribution licences will require close regulation and monitoring to prevent misuse and to ensure tariffs and supply obligations are met. Officials said the policy aims to balance investor requirements with regulatory oversight and could serve as a model for other states.