Concrete

Indiaâ€™s net zero ambitions: The economic rebalancing

Published

6 years ago

March 5, 2021

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The year 2050 is not far off while the enormous challenge of reducing carbon emissions stares at not only the developed nations, but developing nations as well. This is a rebalancing that encompasses several transitions in the economy from financial investments in the right technology and infrastructure interfaces, industrial and social transitions as well. While the need for financial investments is of paramount importance, one cannot ignore the deep impacts of de-carbonising the economy on people and livelihood of a large proportion of the population; the skills and expertise to cope with the future needs of a de-carbonised economy must be attended to right away.

The EU gives us some direction as they were the early starters, between 1990 and 2017, EU reduced Carbon emission by 22 per cent, while the GDP increased by 58 per cent thus decoupling greenhouse gas emissions from the economic growth. This came from large scale electrification of the energy system coupled with deployment of renewables decarbonisng energy supply and significantly reduce dependency on other third country suppliers. The improvement of energy efficiency and industrial modernization followed suit, where waste reduction and recycling took center stage.

We can take examples from two of the most energy intensive industries, cement and aluminum and the progress in the last two decades has been significant. Take Germany or Poland and the shift started from landfill laws, that became more and more stringent thus bringing in enormous focus on recycling. Take municipal waste and one would see that entire municipal waste got recycled and both these countries do not use any fossil fuels in their cement kilns. The industrial waste heat is recycled into household electrification and heating needs and very large industrial complex could be built closer to the towns because it helped to significantly reduce wastes in all forms, especially energy that could be diverted to household use, while municipal wastes could be used as fuel in the industrial heating.

Recycling of waste is all pervasive in all advanced economies of Europe thus bringing in the ten level hierarchy of progress ending with Refuse (not producing stuff) and going down the order as follows: rethink, reduce, re-use, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, recycle and recover.

Decarbonising the transport sector by using alternative means of transport, connected and automated driving combined with the roll-out of electric vehicles and enhanced use of alternative fuels has started to give rich dividends as the Transport emissions form 24 per cent of all emissions and is a tall order. For a large economy like India the waste factor and inefficiencies of logistics alone takes away the bulk of the carbonisation needs, building efficient infrastructure and sharing the infrastructure efficiently are as important as working on electrification of mobility.

Most modern cities in Europe have moved their public transportation systems from fossil fuels completely and per capita emission has reduced by leaps and bounds as the shift from individual vehicles to public vehicles is at the root of the puzzle. Zurich for example has not increased its private car parking space for almost the last decade, thus restricting the number of vehicles that can enter the city at any point of time.

But reaping first mover benefits by modernising existing installations and investing in new carbon neutral and circular economy compatible technologies and systems will need routing of financial investments into several buckets that will put pressures on the existing expansion plans of several fossil fuel consuming industries, habits, systems and habitats. The investments have to be carefully planned in transportation infrastructure and systems, energy transition to renewable and smart grid solutions (transmission and distribution landscape) including storage systems and in smart cities that automatically create the network of carbon emission neutral solutions to everything.

This calls for investments on a massive scale as solar, wind and all renewable energy cannot be directly injected into the grid without proper storage systems in place that will be able to match supply with demand at every instant; without these the rise of renewable energy solutions will be severely limited. Connected systems that are interoperable and building on a smart network is at the core of the EU success stories.

Turning to the creation of new jobs, the focus must shift to resource allocation in efficient land, water and air usage and for sustainable agriculture, forestry and marine systems. EU has made dramatic progress here and the emission reduction in agriculture and in construction has been brought about by transitions to new technologies creating jobs.

Circular economy for a country like India must start with alternate employment opportunities for those who are currently employed in the non-renewable sectors of the economy and the puzzle can only be solved if the new skills of the circular economy can be worked on right from the schools. Here more than the investments, the intent to decouple existing economic growth drivers from carbon dependence is itself an arduous task.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Procyon Mukherjee is an ex-Chief Procurement Officer at LafargeHolcim India.

Concrete

Assam Cabinet Approves Rs. 110 bn JK Lakshmi Cement Investment

ADB-backed project to restore 102 community beels also approved

Published

15 hours ago

September 28, 2026

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The Assam Cabinet has approved an investment of Rs. 110 bn by JK Lakshmi Cement for a clinker manufacturing unit and four associated cement grinding units in the state. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision on 24 September 2026, along with approvals covering wetland restoration and industrial support.

The proposed cement investment is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs. The project forms part of the state government’s latest measures to attract manufacturing activity and strengthen industrial infrastructure. The Cabinet also approved a State Capital Investment Subsidy for eligible manufacturing units covered by the substantive provisions of the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme, or UNNATI, 2024.

The subsidy will apply to units that qualified under the scheme but were unable to secure registration by the extended deadline of 30 September 2026. The measure is intended to support eligible businesses that missed the registration process while continuing to meet the scheme’s substantive requirements.

The Cabinet also cleared an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project for the restoration and rehabilitation of at least 102 derelict community beels across Assam. The ADB loan component is Rs. 6.38 bn, while the Assam government’s contribution will be Rs. 1.59 bn.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved a rent-based or pro bono arrangement for constructing a laboratory and ancillary infrastructure for the Spices Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The facility will be built at Ulubari in Guwahati, with the Agriculture Department coordinating with the Public Works Department (Buildings) to construct it according to designs and specifications provided by the board.

Concrete

JSW Cement Receives Rs. 2.3 bn GST Demand Notice

JSW Cement faces a GST demand over alleged incorrect classification.

Published

15 hours ago

September 28, 2026

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JSW Cement has received a show-cause notice proposing a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand of Rs. 2.3 bn, along with applicable interest and a 10 per cent penalty, over an alleged incorrect classification of transactions. The notice was issued by the Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, Belagavi Audit Commissionerate, on September 24, 2026.

The proposed demand relates to the period from April 2022 to March 2024 and has been issued under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The company disclosed the notice in a filing with the stock exchanges and said the matter involved an alleged short payment of GST.

The proposed amount comprises Integrated GST (IGST) of Rs. 1.22 bn, Central GST (CGST) of Rs. 540.5 mn and State GST (SGST) of Rs. 540.5 mn. The department has also cited alleged contraventions of Sections 9, 37 and 39 of the CGST Act, with interest proposed under Section 50 and the penalty under Section 73.

JSW Cement said the financial impact of the notice would be limited to the proposed tax demand, applicable interest and penalty. However, it assessed that the matter would not have a material impact on the company. The cement manufacturer is preparing its reply to the show-cause notice.

The notice was issued to JSW Cement, which is part of the Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group. The company reiterated that the total proposed GST demand stood at Rs. 2.3 bn, excluding the applicable interest and 10 per cent penalty, and that the proceedings remained at the show-cause stage.

Shares of JSW Cement ended at Rs. 115.65 on the BSE on Thursday, down Rs. 2.60, or 2.20 per cent, from the previous close. The stock movement came as the company disclosed the proposed tax demand and its intention to respond to the department’s notice.

Concrete

Montra Electric, Wonder Cement Deploy 250-Vehicle EV Fleet

Fleet to haul cement on a 1,450-km corridor across four states

Published

15 hours ago

September 28, 2026

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Montra Electric and Wonder Cement have begun commercial operation of a 250-vehicle deployment of Rhino 5538 EV 4×2 tractor-trailers on an electric freight corridor linking Rajasthan with ports in Gujarat. The companies said the fleet is being used for regular cement logistics rather than a limited pilot, making it one of the largest heavy-duty electric truck deployments by an Indian industrial company.

An initial 30 trucks were introduced from Wonder Cement’s plant in Nimbahera, Rajasthan, in July 2026. They are hauling full payloads on daily routes between Nimbahera and Dahej Port and between Nimbahera and Tuna Port, covering approximately 1,450 km across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The vehicles operate to schedules comparable with those of the company’s conventional diesel fleet.

The corridor is supported by 13 dedicated charging stations positioned to enable long-distance duty cycles within industrial turnaround times. The Rhino 5538 EV is available with a 55 t Gross Combination Weight option and is designed for cement, coal and clinker transport. Its specifications include a 282 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor producing 280 kW and 2,000 Nm of torque, 18 per cent continuous gradeability and a 6-speed Automated Manual Transmission.

The vehicle has a stated range of 198 km under specified test conditions, with one side loaded and the other empty. It can charge from 20 to 100 per cent State of Charge in 60 minutes and is supported by more than 95 per cent assured uptime. Montra Electric and Wonder Cement said the deployment would assess electrification through payload capacity, turnaround performance and daily availability in live freight operations.

Montra Electric said the same operating model could support steel, mining, infrastructure and port haulage, where fixed routes and predictable turnaround windows are common. The company has more than 750 heavy-duty electric vehicles on Indian roads and has covered over 30 mn km across its deployments. Montra Electric operates as the clean mobility arm of the Murugappa Group, with businesses spanning heavy commercial vehicles, smaller commercial vehicles, three-wheelers and electric tractors.