Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director, JK Lakshmi Cement, shares her views on how CSR adds value to the overall sustainability performance of the organisation.
How CSR is important for the economy and what impact does it have in your business?
India is a developing country and out of 1.4 billion people, a large part of the population is below poverty line. Combined with this India has huge burden in terms of unequal social economic development and human development deficits and as a country we are facing challenges like skewed sex ratio, gender inequality, hunger, high infant and maternal mortality, lack of access to quality education, lack of drinking water and sanitation, lack of infrastructure in rural area, malnutrition, environmental degradation and other issues.
Despite various Government initiatives to address these problems, they remain a challenge for the country. In this background, multi-stakeholder collaborative efforts are required to address them and to realise growth potentials of our country. Indian corporates have the resources and the core competencies like project management, innovations, capacity to scale up, entrepreneurship through which they can play critical role towards addressing of such issues. They have the talent and know how to ensure maximum impact at minimum cost. CSR programmes bring out changes at the grassroot level by harnessing this operational efficacy.
CSR also helps in building goodwill and trust with various stakeholders including communities around the business operation. It creates a harmonious coexistence between business and the community, which gives business the social license to operate. Therefore, on the one hand, CSR is good for inclusive development and on the other it brings values to the business.
CSR also helps in building a positive image of the brand and hence gaining customer loyalty. Do you agree? Please explain.
In the Indian context, CSR aims at inclusive development through implementing various social and community development projects in the thematic areas defined under schedule VII of Section 135 of Companies Act, 2013. A well-managed CSR programme helps increase brand equity, awareness and resonate with customer and stakeholder which attach strong values to socially responsible business. Various research suggests that people appreciate the company not only for its high-quality products but also for the activities that they do for greater good of the people. For such business and products, customers feel a sense of pride when buying and are more likely to recommend it. Loyal customers are the best marketing a company gets through its CSR activities.
Do you think a socially conscious image is important to remain in the competition today? Does it give your business a competitive edge?
Yes, I strongly believe that a socially conscious image is important to remain in the competition today, as it works as a differentiator for the customer. In an increasingly connected world through various technology and social media platforms, customers care about the business responsible behaviour, and they will be loyal to corporations, they believe, that they are aligned with their value. That means, corporations that cater to these customers have a competitive edge over companies that do not. They might offer the same products and services, but the fact that they are making social responsibility a priority for the corporate makes them more appealing. Global research on responsible business had revealed that more than half of the surveyed customers were willing to pay more if the company is committed to corporate responsibility and social causes. CSR helps in brand building, goodwill and image creation, creating a peaceful community around the plant and the business, employee retention, creating socially responsible manager and a sustainable organisation. The benefits of CSR are both tangible and intangible.
More cement companies are doing CSR activities around energy efficiency. What are your plans on this?
In my opinion the impact of lack of energy access on various human development drivers such as education, livelihoods, health and sanitation, and safety have a direct bearing on the inclusiveness of economic development and the quality of human capital. We are promoting this by fuel-efficient chulhas, biogas plants, solar lighting systems like lanterns, streetlights, study lamps and home and community facilities lighting. These solutions also have a positive impact on women health and empowerment.
Our company has installed state-of-the-art technology equipment and has progressively implemented various innovations, process modifications, etc. to maximise resource efficiencies. Some of the major initiatives are: installation of waste heat recovery systems of 15 MW and 7.50 MW at Sirohi and Durg manufacturing units respectively, which mitigates GHG emission to the tune of 1,36,235 tonne CO2 eq per year. Further, the company has also installed around 36 MW solar and wind power generation plants at various locations, with potential to mitigate about total 13,245 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
What was your CSR spending for FY20? Could you brief us on what kind of CSR activities do you conduct?
During the FY 20-21, JK Lakshmi Cement spent Rs. 339.67 lakh on various CSR projects.
The major CSR thrust areas of the organisation are health; water and sanitation; education; skill development and livelihoods; environment sustainability and community development. We are directly implementing our CSR projects around our plants in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
While on the one hand, company put resources to fight the pandemic, on the other, it took several CSR initiatives to reduce maternal and infant mortality; organised number of medical camps, supported government schools for improvement of physical and classroom infrastructure and facilities; provided various kinds of support to students and their families.
On the livelihoods front, the company undertook multiple on-farm and off-farm initiatives and skills trainings to improve family?? income. Other initiatives included setting up water facilities for domestic use; provision for food kits for multi-drug resistant TB patients; plantation; recharging of water bodies, among others. The company also strategically endeavored towards facilitating ??ast-mile-connectivity??for the poor to access various State and national Government schemes aimed at poverty alleviation.
One of the key impacts has been empowerment of women due to improvement in their income resulting into their higher familial and societal status.
What is your CSR budget for the FY21? Please tell us about various partnership/ committee you are associated with.
Our CSR budget for FY2021-22 is Rs 613.76 lakh. JK Lakshmi is directly implementing its CSR projects around its plants in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. We are impacting the lives of more than 2 lakh people through our various need based and impactful CSR projects. These projects are designed and implemented in partnership with the local communities. There are concerted efforts to work in close collaboration and synergy with local government departments like health, education, animal husbandry, and others as well as local panchayat Institutions. As per the need and requirements, the projects have synergy with local NGOs working in the area in terms of knowledge sharing and resource leveraging.
Research shows that employees of businesses that prioritise CSR are happier and more fulfilled. What are your views on this?
Managers are by very nature of their work allowed to take decisions that affect not only their companies but societies at large. Once the manager is either given some kind of social project or they are involved into the community, they get sensitised to the needs and expectations of the society so that they understand how their decisions impact the various stakeholders in the value chain particularly the society / community because organisations are operating in social sanctions and drawing resources from the very society that they intend to serve.
With the employee working under the socially responsible managers tend to understand and appreciate over the period the value of business decisions that are aligned to social values and greater good for the mankind. This culminates into imbibing of social values in the context of business amongst the employees and over the period it becomes an essential construct of the organisational culture.
During pandemic what CSR activities did you carry out and how has it helped you in sustaining and remaining competitive?
As the beginning of financial year saw outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the company responded to this unprecedented crisis, taking several initiatives for the local communities and migrants’ workers in collaboration with local panchayats and district administration across its plant locations as well as in the marketing zones. Large number of food kits, sanitisers, cotton masks and hand wash were distributed to the needy families as well as sessions and meetings were organised to create awareness on Covid-19.
Number of temperature guns, sanitisers, masks, and hand gloves were provided to frontline ??orona warriors????ANMs and ASHA workers. Regular sanitisation of village common places panchayat bhavans, banks, post offices, E-Mitra centres, ration shops helped in containing spread of virus in the communities on the plants. In addition, the company also pro-actively responded to this national emergency and donated to the PM CARES Fund to support government?? initiatives to fight pandemic.
Please tell us about your future plans in CSR?
For us, the most important thing is to bring transformative changes in the lives of the needy and marginalised people around our plant locations. Based on our experience, our focus in the future would be on education; skill development and livelihoods including employability, in addition to our existing efforts in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation. We will also continue to work in the field of environment and natural resource management. CSR which is integrated into business strategy of an organisation adds value to the overall sustainability performance of the organisation. Therefore, we would also conceptualise and deliver CSR projects for the inclusive development of the bottom-of-the-pyramid in the product value chain. Our future also includes higher use of technology in delivering projects in the community.
Two cement concrete pavement roads covering a total stretch of 2.2 km in Akhoya village were inaugurated on 27th June 2026 by MLA Nuklutoshi Longkumer, who attended as the special guest. The project comprises the one km L Pangersowa Road and the one point two km Longchara Junction to RC Chiten Jamir Memorial Government High School road. A formal programme followed the inauguration at the school auditorium.
A technical report was presented by Er Waloniba of the Urban Engineering Wing-III, Kohima, which stated the project was sanctioned in March 2026 under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme for 2025-26 at a sanctioned cost of Rs 29.1 million (mn). The work order was issued to M/s Ensign Construction on thirtieth April 2026 with a stipulated completion period of 12 months. Work commenced on fourth May 2026 and was completed on sixth June 2026, with the contractor and team finishing the tasks in around two months. The project included a single-lane cement concrete pavement with side drains, two slab culverts and breast walls at required locations.
Longkumer acknowledged the Chief Minister, the advisor for urban development, contractors and other stakeholders for the allocation and support, and he commended the contractor for early completion. He noted that cooperation from landowners and the community had been important in resolving land related issues that can otherwise delay developmental works. He emphasised that planned developmental activities carried out with collective effort would enable more projects to be implemented successfully.
The headmaster of RC Chiten Jamir Memorial Government High School, I Chubasenba Longkumer, outlined the school background, noting it was established in 1962, was earlier known as Government High School Changtongya and was renamed in 2014. Local representatives said the improved approach roads would ease access for students, staff, patients and the general public and fulfil a long standing aspiration of residents. A dedicatory prayer was offered by the pastor and the programme concluded with a ribbon cutting attended by village council and town council representatives.
Indian Cement Review (ICR) and Fuller Technologies brought industry, policy and technology leaders together to discuss how cement innovation can drive green construction at scale, writes Rakesh Rao.
India is building at a pace few countries can match. Highways, airports, housing, logistics parks, industrial corridors and urban infrastructure are reshaping the country’s economic geography. But beneath this growth story lies a difficult question: can India continue to build at scale without locking itself into a high-carbon future?
That question formed the core of an online panel discussion titled “Driving Green Construction Through Cement Innovation”, organised by Indian Cement Review (ICR) in association with Fuller Technologies as the Presenting Partner on June 25, 2026. The webinar brought together experts from cement technology, R&D, global industry platforms, building performance policy and international development cooperation to examine how low-carbon cement and material innovation can accelerate India’s green construction transition.
The discussion came at a crucial time. India has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 per cent by 2030. At the same time, the country’s construction sector is expanding rapidly, driven by urbanisation, infrastructure development, housing demand and industrial growth. Cement, as one of the most widely used construction materials, sits at the heart of this transition. It is indispensable to development, but also central to the challenge of reducing embodied carbon in buildings and infrastructure.
Moderated by Nitika Krishan, Senior Urban Infrastructure and Sustainable Policy Consultant, the panel featured:
Dr Hemantkumar Aiyer, VP and Head R&D, Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd;
Devika Wattal, Innovation Lead, Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA);
Dr Sunita Purushottam, MD, GBPN India (Global Buildings Performance Network); and
Vaibhav Rathi, Senior Technical Advisor, GIZ (the German Agency for International Cooperation)
Setting the tone for the discussion, Nitika Krishan underlined the scale of the challenge before the sector. “The question before us is no longer whether we build, but how we build sustainably,” she said. She pointed out that construction accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions when both operational and embodied carbon are considered. Cement production, she added, remains one of the hardest industrial processes to decarbonise.
For India, this is not merely an environmental issue. It is a development issue, a competitiveness issue and increasingly, a market issue. As one of the world’s largest cement producers and among the fastest-growing construction markets, India’s material choices will influence the carbon trajectory of its built environment for decades. As Krishan observed, sustainability solutions in economies such as India must not remain limited to laboratory success. They must be scalable, commercially viable and practical at national level.
The innovation gap: From technology to market
Experts believe that there is a need to bridge the innovation gaps for making decarbonisation in cement and concrete scalable. Devika Wattal of GCCA, explained, “The starting point must be the core cement manufacturing process itself. The first and foremost is the heart of our process, the heart of cement manufacturing. How do we reduce clinker? That is always a topic where industry is working very intrinsically.”
Clinker reduction remains one of the most important pathways for lowering emissions in cement. Since clinker production is energy-intensive and chemically emits carbon dioxide, reducing the clinker factor through supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), blended cements and new chemistries can have a significant impact. Wattal also noted that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will have a role, though it may not be the first lever for all markets.
However, she stressed that innovation cannot stop at technology development. A solution that works in the lab must also be adaptable to industry, scalable in production and acceptable in construction practice. “It is important for that innovation to be adaptable, to be scalable, and so that it can be executed in real time,” she said.
Wattal also called for stronger enabling systems around innovation. These include performance-based standards, product-level embodied carbon databases and clearer frameworks for evaluating green materials. Without these, low-carbon cement products may struggle to compete with conventional materials in procurement and design.
R&D must balance carbon, cost and performance
Bringing in the R&D perspective into the discussion, Dr Hemantkumar Aiyer of Nuvoco Vistas emphasised that low-carbon cement development cannot be treated as a single-variable exercise. Cement must perform in real construction conditions. It must deliver strength, durability, consistency and cost competitiveness, while also reducing carbon.
“The root of understanding and balancing all these aspects lies in materials, and knowing the materials,” he said.
According to Dr Aiyer, R&D teams must understand the variability of raw materials such as fly ash, slag and clinker. Different sources produce different material behaviours. This makes mix optimisation, material characterisation and processing-property relationships critical. When performance is affected, cement manufacturers must understand how strength enhancers, admixtures and other performance chemicals interact with the material system.
He also linked material science with process efficiency. Clinkerisation takes place at extremely high temperatures, around 1,400 to 1,450 degrees Celsius. Any improvement in raw mix design, process control or energy optimisation can, therefore, help reduce emissions and cost. Dr Aiyer pointed to artificial intelligence-based optimisation, Cement 4.0 tools and advanced software as important enablers for real-time process and material control.
“The more you understand the materials, the more you can control it,” he said.
LC3: The promise is proven, the sequencing is not
Limestone calcined clay cement, commonly referred to as LC3, has attracted global attention because it can reduce clinker content significantly by using calcined clay and limestone while maintaining performance in many applications. Kiranmai Sanagavarapu of Fuller Technologies said the technology itself has already moved beyond proof of concept. Fuller Technologies has worked with calcined clay technology for nearly two decades and has seen plants running in France and Ghana. These plants, she said, are meeting local and national specifications, while the economics are beginning to make sense.
“The calciner is performing, the economics is stacking up, it is making business sense to produce,” she said.
But if the technology is viable, why has adoption not scaled faster? For Sanagavarapu, the answer lies in project sequencing. Too often, clay characterisation happens after equipment is specified. This, she warned, is a backward approach because calciner design depends on clay mineralogy, kaolinite content, iron levels, reactivity, moisture and other variables.
“If you don’t know what your deposit looks like before you commit for the equipment, you are, in a way, going blind into designing,” she said.
She also identified permitting and plant integration as major bottlenecks. Environmental clearances, mining permissions and local regulatory approvals must begin early. Similarly, calcined clay must be integrated into existing grinding, blending and logistics systems from the design stage, not treated as an afterthought during commissioning.
India already has IS 18189:2023 standard for LC3, but Sanagavarapu pointed out that the standard is not yet visible enough in procurement documents. “The gap between what is technically being permitted and what the procurement is asking is the single biggest bottleneck,” she said.
In her view, successful scale-up depends on getting the sequence right: clay characterisation first, permitting in parallel, standards aligned with construction, and integration built into plant design.
India’s LC3 journey: Progress, but demand remains thin
Providing details of India’s LC3 commercialisation experience, Vaibhav Rathi of GIZ noted that JK Cement carried out the first commercial production of LC3 at its Rajasthan plant, followed by JK Lakshmi Cement three months later. These initiatives were supported by the International Climate Initiative of the Government of Germany, with IIT Delhi contributing deep institutional knowledge on LC3 research and BIS certification.
Rathi said India’s early experience has produced clear lessons. One of the biggest was the need to build capacity among regulators. While BIS certification existed, State Pollution Control Boards were unfamiliar with the technology and unsure about the approval pathway.
“The capacity building is not just needed amongst the producer and the users of the cement, but also the regulators who are working with this technology for the first time,” he said.
He also highlighted the need for better information on China clay deposits. Since China clay is currently classified as a minor mineral, centralised data on availability, quality and location is limited. If cement manufacturers are to adopt LC3 at scale, stronger mineral intelligence will be important.
The third issue is demand. LC3 has already been used in projects such as Palava City in Mumbai and Noida International Airport, but these remain limited examples. “It is in a chicken and egg situation,” Rathi said. “Cement companies are saying we need more demand, and users are saying there is not enough cement available.”
Public procurement, he suggested, could help break this cycle. If agencies such as CPWD and other public bodies begin testing, accepting and specifying LC3, it could create the market confidence needed for cement companies to invest in production and storage.
Building codes must catch up with innovation
Dr Sunita Purushottam of GBPN India argued that material choices will determine built environment emissions over the long term, but India’s current policy signals remain fragmented. Although LC3 has received BIS recognition, she pointed out that building codes, municipal bylaws, schedules of rates and sustainability codes do not yet provide uniform guidance on low-carbon cement.
“The current cement regulations are largely prescriptive and favouring traditional materials,” she said. This limits the ability of alternative materials to compete on performance, durability and emissions.
Dr Purushottam also raised the issue of taxation. Cement, including LC3, currently falls under the same GST bracket as conventional cement. A differentiated tax structure, she argued, could help accelerate market adoption. “In order for the market to demand LC3, that differentiation in the GST could go a long way,” she said.
She noted that green building certifications such as IGBC and GRIHA are already creating demand for low-carbon materials by assigning points for embodied carbon and sustainable material use. However, she said large-scale adoption will require regulatory mandates, particularly through building codes and state-level notifications.
She also cautioned that low-carbon cement alone does not solve the entire building performance problem. A material may reduce embodied carbon, but the operational carbon of a building depends on thermal performance, design, insulation and energy use. “The energy part has two elements,” she said. “One is the embodied carbon of the material itself, and the other is the operational carbon.”
Collaboration is the bridge between invention and impact
Wattal said GCCA sees innovation as a strategic priority and works through platforms that connect industry with academia and start-ups. “There is no way we will decarbonise our sector without innovation,” she said.
However, she stressed that research must be connected to actual industry challenges. Innovations developed in isolation may fail when they encounter real-world barriers such as raw material variability, plant integration, cost, standards and finance. Start-ups, too, need industry mentorship and scale-up pathways.
Wattal also flagged the importance of finance. Even strong technologies may struggle to attract investment if there is no common understanding of bankability. “We have always put projects into, is this a bankable project? But the definition of a bankable project has never been defined,” she said.
For India, she saw strong potential in its academic and start-up ecosystem, but said the challenge lies in alignment and prioritisation. The country has the research base, industrial capacity and market size. What it now needs is a coordinated route from innovation to deployment.
There is a practical concern for cement manufacturers: how can existing plants be adapted for lower emissions without compromising reliability or commercial viability?
Kiranmai Sanagavarapu addressed, “The reliability risk in calcined clay retrofit is definitely real, but it is almost always self-inflicted. The risk arises when a new process is added to an existing circuit without properly redesigning grinding and blending configurations.”
Existing cement plants, she explained, can take two broad routes. The first is external sourcing of calcined clay combined with mill optimisation. This requires lower capital investment and can potentially move in 12 to 18 months if other conditions are in place. It may reduce emissions by around 20 to 30 per cent. The second route is integrated calcination on site, which requires higher capital expenditure and longer lead times, but provides greater control over quality, supply and emissions reduction potential.
For Sanagavarapu, the principle is simple: low-carbon retrofits must be designed with intent. “Design it with an intent properly from the start. Start in the market conditions where the economics are already working,” she said.
Circularity: The overlooked advantage
According to Vaibhav Rathi, fly ash and slag are already well established in cement and construction (C&D), but construction and demolition waste remains underutilised. “C&D waste is a growing business opportunity which not many have taken up,” he said. India’s continuous construction and demolition activity creates huge volumes of waste, much of which contributes to air pollution, land degradation and material inefficiency. With the right processing and standards, this waste can be converted into useful construction products.
Rathi also pointed out that LC3 has a circular economy dimension that is often overlooked. It can use low-grade kaolin-rich clay left behind after high-grade clay is extracted for other applications. “LC3 is not only a low-carbon solution, but also a circular economy solution,” he said.
At the same time, he cautioned that LC3 in India is not yet cheap because it has not reached scale. Site-specific techno-commercial feasibility studies, supported jointly by development agencies and industry, could help companies assess whether LC3 production makes technical and financial sense at a given location.
Dr Purushottam added that India must address both low-carbon cement and construction waste together. “Both low-carbon cement and C&D waste go hand in hand. India does not have an option but to work on both,” she said.
Dr Aiyer called for policy shifts from both government and industry, including preferential purchasing of sustainable materials, minimum supplementary cementitious material requirements in public and public-private projects, and faster regulatory implementation. “If we can fast-track the regulatory standards and their implementation on the ground, that is the way to go,” he said.
From green ambition to green construction
Cement innovation is no longer only about chemistry. It is about systems. Low-carbon cement will scale only when technology, standards, procurement, finance, regulation, education and construction practice move together.
LC3 and other low-carbon technologies have shown promise. India has early commercial examples, strong research capability and growing market interest. But mainstream adoption will depend on whether demand can be created, regulators can be capacitated, standards can be embedded in procurement, and manufacturers can see a clear business case.
For a country building at India’s scale, the opportunity is enormous. Cement will continue to be central to infrastructure and urban development. The challenge now is to ensure that the cement used in India’s growth story carries a lower carbon burden.
Rakesh Rao
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JK Cement gained after being declared preferred bidder for the Gilund Limestone Block in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, a lease area of 370.96 hectares. The firm saw its shares trade at Rs. 5550.05, up by 28.45 points or 0.52 per cent from the previous close of Rs. 5521.60 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 5569.15 and touched a high of Rs. 5625.00 and a low of Rs. 5531.00.
The stock recorded turnover of 1742 shares on the counter and the BSE group A stock with face value Rs. 10 has a 52 week high of Rs. 7565.00 on 20-Aug-2025 and a 52 week low of Rs. 4670.05 on 12-Jun-2026. Last one week high and low stood at Rs. 5625.00 and Rs. 5329.00 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.66 per cent, while institutions and non-institutions held 40.61 per cent and 13.73 per cent respectively.
The e-auction conducted by the Government of Rajasthan resulted in the company being declared preferred bidder for the mining lease, and the allocation will enable the company to plan phased development of the deposit, subject to regulatory approvals. The Gilund block spans 370.96 hectares and its allocation is intended to support raw material security for the company’s cement operations in the region. The designation follows the government auction process and will allow the company to plan development and integration of the deposit into its supply chain.
The current market capitalisation stands at Rs. 430.38 billion (bn), reflecting market response to the mining news and prevailing valuation levels for the sector. Investors and analysts will watch for formal allotment and related disclosures that can clarify timelines, capital expenditure and expected production profiles. The report is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice, and market participants are advised to consult advisers before making decisions.
