Concrete

New cement association on the anvil

Published

5 years ago

July 1, 2021

admin

Cement and Steel producers are once again under the ire of government as union minister Nitin Gadkari indicated a brewing cartel in the two industries. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has assured the Builders??Association of India (BAI) that he would look into their demand for a regulatory authority for the cement and steel sectors. He said the Central government is serious about curbing instances of cartelisation.

Expressing concern, Gadkari said he felt there is cartelisation in these industries. The minister made the comments while virtually interacting with the members and office-bearers of the BAI in the month of January 2021.

??e have taken serious note of it [cartelisation] and I have discussed this with the Prime Minister. Most steel companies own iron ore mines and with no increase in labour and power charges, why should there be an increase in steel prices? It is very difficult to understand,??the minister said.

Big players in the steel and cement industry are conspiring together to jack up prices, he said. The steel prices have risen by 55 per cent in the last six months, even though the cost of key inputs like raw materials and power remained the same.

“It will be difficult to achieve Prime Minister Modi?? dream of making India a $5 trillion economy if the steel and cement prices keep rising,” Gadkari had said. Cartel is a collection of companies in the same industry that collude together to control the price of a product/service.

This comes a month after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) conducted searches in the offices of major cement producers to find the evidence of price collusion.

Background

In 2019, country’s anti-trust body started examining complaints of cartelisation in the cement industry. Following this, in December 2020, it raided top five cement companies, including UltraTech Cement offices and two subsidiaries of LafargeHolcim, world?? largest cement maker.

It conducted the searches simultaneously in multiple offices across the country and seized electronic and physical data, pieces of equipment and material. The agency had also hired private IT experts to decode the data it collected from the seize.

By December 2020, the industry had hiked cement prices by 23 percent, whereas steel prices rose by whooping 45 percent since January 2020. In January 2020, the price of one cement bag (50 kg) was Rs 349, in December 2020, real estate developers were buying the same bag at Rs 430.

On the other hand, during the same period, the price of steel surged from Rs 40,000 to Rs 58,000. Gadkari had made similar comments then too, saying these two industries keep taking unfair advantage of government’s initiatives to help them. He had said, “I decided to make all roads concrete. I wanted to encourage the cement industry. But they are only taking (unfair) advantage of the situation and making cartels. So, I am now allowing bitumen for road construction.??/p>

A month after the investigation, Gadkari has brought the matter into the limelight once again. Cement and steel factories exploit people by levying higher rates while there is no noticeable hike in either power or labor costs. This is a clear indication of a cartel in both the industries, union minister Nitin Gadkari said. All the players in the industry have their own iron ore mines and do not have to face any hikes in labour or power rates, he added.

Speaking to the Builders Association of India of Western Region, he wondered why the industry is hiking prices when prices of other input factors have been constant. He indicated government has infra projects worth more than Rs 100 crore in the pipeline and their sustenance would be difficult if both the industries keep this up.

To deal with the situation, the government is mulling over setting a regulator for cement and steel industry. Earlier, Gadkari had written to the PM seeking his intervention on price collusion in the two industries.

Concrete

Ultra Concrete Age

Prof. A. S. Khanna (Retd., IIT Bombay) on how Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) improves strength, durability and lifecycle performance.

Published

1 week ago

April 1, 2026

admin

The need of present time is stronger buildings, industrial or common utility buildings, such as Malls, Railway stations, hospitals, offices, bridges etc. For this, there is need of long durable, tough and stable concrete, which could stand under normal and seismic conditions. Tough railway bridges are required for bullet trains to pass without any damage. Railway tunnels, sea-links, coastal roads, bridges and multistorey buildings, are the need of the hour. The question comes, is the normal cement called OPC is sufficient to take care of such requirements or better combination of cements and sand mixtures is required?

Introduction

A good stable building structure can be made with a good quality of cement+sand+water system. Its quality can be enhanced by keeping the density of admixture higher (varies from 30 in normal buildings to bridges etc to 80). Further enhancement in the properties of various cements admixtures is made by adding several additives which give additional strength, waterproofing, flexibility etc. These are called construction chemicals…

To read the full story Click Here

Concrete

NCB Signs MoU With Cement Manufacturer To Boost Construction Skills

Partnership to deliver nationwide training and certification

Published

1 week ago

March 31, 2026

admin

The National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading cement manufacturer to strengthen skill development and capacity building in the construction sector. The agreement was formalised at NCB premises in Ballabgarh and was signed by the Director General of NCB, Dr L. P. Singh, and the head of technical services at UltraTech Cement Limited, Er Rahul Goel. The collaboration seeks to bring institutional resources and industry expertise into a structured national training effort.

The partnership will deliver structured training and certification programmes across the country aimed at enhancing the capabilities of civil engineers, ready?mix concrete (RMC) professionals, contractors, construction workers and masons. Programme curricula will cover material quality testing, concrete mix proportioning, durability assessment and sustainable construction practices to support improved construction outcomes. Emphasis is to be placed on standardised assessment and certification to raise practice levels across diverse construction roles.

Practical learning elements will include workshops, site demonstrations, technical seminars and exposure visits to plants and RMC facilities to strengthen applied skills and on?site decision making. The Director General indicated confidence that a large number of professionals and workers would be trained over the next three to five years under the initiative. The partnership is designed to complement flagship government schemes such as the Skill India Mission and to align training outputs with national infrastructure priorities.

By combining the council’s technical mandate with industry experience, the initiative aims to develop a more skilled and quality?conscious workforce capable of meeting rising demand in infrastructure and housing. NCB will continue to coordinate programme delivery and quality assurance while industry partners provide practical exposure and technical inputs. The collaboration is expected to support long?term capacity building and more sustainable construction practices nationwide.

Concrete

JSW Cement Commissions Nagaur Plant, Enters North India

New Rajasthan unit boosts capacity to 24.1 MTPA and expands reach

Published

1 week ago

March 30, 2026

admin

JSW Cement has strengthened its national presence by commencing production at its greenfield integrated cement plant in Nagaur, Rajasthan, marking its entry into the north Indian market.

With this commissioning, the company’s installed grinding capacity has increased to 24.1 MTPA, while total clinker capacity, including its joint venture operations, stands at 9.74 MTPA.

The Nagaur facility comprises a 3.30 MTPA clinkerisation unit and a 2.50 MTPA cement grinding unit, with an additional 1.00 MTPA grinding capacity currently under development. Strategically located, the plant is positioned to serve high-growth markets across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the NCR.

The project has been funded through a mix of equity and long-term debt, with Rs 800 crore allocated from IPO proceeds towards part-financing the unit.

Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement, stated that the commissioning marks a key milestone in the company’s ambition to become a pan-India player. He added that the project was completed within 21 months and positions the company to achieve its targeted capacity of 41.85 MTPA by FY29.

Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement, highlighted that the expansion aligns with the company’s strategy to tap into rapidly growing northern markets driven by infrastructure development. He noted that the company remains focused on delivering high-quality, eco-friendly cement solutions while progressing towards its long-term capacity goal of 60 MTPA.

The Nagaur plant has been designed with sustainability features, including co-processing of alternative fuels and a 7 km overland belt conveyor for limestone transport to reduce road emissions. The facility will also incorporate a 16 MW Waste Heat Recovery System to improve energy efficiency and lower its carbon footprint.

JSW Cement, part of the JSW Group, operates across the building materials value chain and currently has eight plants across India, along with a clinker unit in the UAE through its joint venture.