Economy & Market

Shifting gears from pandemic response to broader economy

Published

5 years ago

July 1, 2021

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The good news is that India has stopped the spread of the new variant of the Covid-19, which is running havoc in the UK and would continue to maintain strictest of guidelines to be followed in days to come. This is one way India will remain ahead and that is the best news at the start of the new year 2021.

The pandemic response by and large has been exceeding expectations, almost every State government has done well and the Centre doing its part, although it is still early to celebrate anything; the case rate and death rate both are better than what it was a month back, therefore the actions on the vaccine is what everyone is looking at and this would ordain somewhat of a Centre-State coordination we have never seen in the past. First of all the procurement of the vaccine is the starting point and India is largely going to depend on domestic sources, which is a great story. All three sources have to now produce and the capacities must be combined to reach a sizeable number so that in 2021 we can reach the target set by the experts for India.

The vaccine distribution, if it mirrors the same universal immunisation programmes, we will have to improve on many areas, cold storage systems, maintenance, expertise of people and logistics of temperature sensitive movements will be key things to watch out, much of which needs collaboration among a range of constituents, some state, some central and some falling in the private domain, digital solutions actually help to make this work seamlessly.

The gears now need to be shifted to the broader economy and consumption remains the most vulnerable area; increasing consumption has not been an easy task although fiscal actions have been incessantly moving in that direction, the fiscal gap itself is now Rs 10.75 lakh crore for the period April-November, which is not a great denouement if one looks at the year on year consumption de-growth of 5.6 per cent so far. The fiscal multipliers therefore have shown a much moderated stance so far. The major reason for this can be found in the application of funds, of the Rs 4,280 crore of borrowings per day by the Centre and States, Rs 1,940 crore per day go in interest payments to the banks; these interest payments could have been much more had the weighted average cost of borrowing been at 7.5 per cent instead of the currently subdued 5.87 per cent.

The falling rates have never helped to increase consumption over a protracted period of time. The money multipliers have not worked either and the transmission channels have never been deep enough to reach the most vulnerable areas. The resultant hypothesis remains strange but true that the fall in rates exactly and equally opposed the desire to take in more debt for consumption and the punishment on savers made them save more to compensate, thus making consumption growth even more difficult; the job market returned with some cheers which is not broad based and this is where the attention needs to be diverted to.

The next budget must be seriously looking at a broad based consumption growth. But for now there are areas of immediate actions, like the emergency funding of the health and vaccine disbursements, it is still not clear how this funding will be done. The vaccine costs (Rs 57,200 crore) is a fraction of the total cost for the 130 crore population. The additional logistics, storage and distribution costs will be closer to this number. The Centre or State, whichever way we look at it, it will strain borrowing outlay for 2021.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Procyon Mukherjee is an ex-Chief Procurement Officer at LafargeHolcim India.

Concrete

Wonder Cement appoints Mahesh Singh as VP Corporate Brand Communication

Published

6 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

1 week 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.