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Our mission is to positively impact as many lives possible

Published

4 years ago

May 12, 2022

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ICR engages Jayakumar Krishnaswamy, Managing Director, Nuvoco Vistas Corp, in a detailed conversation about the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, its success stories and vision for the future.

What is your vision and mission for Nuvoco’s CSR programme?
Through our corporate social responsibility projects and sustainable development initiatives, we envision the creation of a self-reliant world – one in which local communities can positively engage and create tangible value. Our mission is to positively impact as many lives as possible through projects on health, education, livelihood and environment protection by partnering with relevant stakeholders to contribute to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.

What is the budget allocated by your organisation for CSR and community building activities? What will be the areas of focus for FY 2022-23?
Nuvoco has had a long-standing commitment to sustainable development through its core value of ‘Care’. The company’s CSR activities are based on five overarching themes namely:

Sangrahit Bharat (Natural Resource Management & Clean Energy)
Swasth Bharat (Health)
Shikshit Bharat (Education)
Saksham Bharat (Livelihood)
Sanrachit Bharat (Infrastructure development)

The pandemic-induced disruptions over the past two years have led to major setbacks for primary and secondary education, this is especially true for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and socio-economically weaker sections of society, who didn’t have the same access to online education as their urban counterparts. Hence, for FY23, our focus will be on improving the health status of women and children, and promoting quality education infrastructure.

Which of your flagship CSR projects have been the most successful? What are its most notable achievements?
Below are some of Nuvoco’s most notable flagship CSR projects that we would like to highlight.
• Project Daksh: Last year, in association with Shahi Exports, Nuvoco provided training in industrial skills to more than 175 girls from rural areas of which nearly 150 girls have been successfully employed in various organisations. Nuvoco also provided basic training on bedside patient assistance to these young girls to increase their employability. These skills training programmes have helped girls from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds garner meaningful job opportunities and sustain their families in rural areas.
• Project Samriddhi: In the last year, Project Samriddhi has helped train more than 750 farmers in new and improved agriculture techniques and methods. We have trained farmers in West Bengal in SRI (System of Rice Intensification) – a method of paddy cultivation. Through this, they were able to enhance their paddy productivity by 25 to 30 per cent. We have also trained 100 women farmers in mushroom cultivation and this has helped them to earn an additional income of around 3000 to 4000 rupees per month. We also federated 450 women farmers to form a Sanchari Women Farmer Producer Company Limited; so far, they have collected a total share capital of 4.5 lacs for the registration of the company.
• Project TARA: This project aims to support the frail healthcare infrastructure in villages and improve healthcare services in rural areas in India surrounding Nuvoco’s plants and factories.

Through project TARA, we have adopted 162 anganwadis near our Chittorgarh Cement Plant and are working to transform them into model recreational units.
We also aim to achieve 100 per cent ANC (Ante-Natal Care) tests for pregnant women in our project villages. To achieve this, we have provided mobile Ante-Natal Care (ANC) check-up kits that are integrated with a mobile app to the government health workers in these rural areas. Government health workers like ANM (Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife), ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and AWW (Anganwadi Worker) were trained to operate the kits and conduct compulsory ANC for pregnant women in our project villages. Through this initiative, we have been able to bring crucial ANC facilities to the doorstep of rural families in need.
Furthermore, there is another initiative called the Girls Health Group wherein we seek to address health issues faced by adolescent girls in rural areas. Our team decided to form these groups across rural areas so that girls from every village can become members and discuss issues related to their health with their peers and seek solutions for them. For instance, the non-availability of sanitary napkins in villages was a major problem for young girls and women. In order to tackle this issue, we started sanitary pad banks in villages through our GHGs. Today, we are proud to highlight that almost every girl in our project village has access to sanitary napkins, thereby improving their menstrual hygiene and limiting the occurrence of infections.

How many women from Aakriti, an initiative under Saksham Bharat, have been empowered since its inception?
Project Aakriti is one of our most successful and unique initiatives that has helped to accelerate progress toward the economic empowerment of rural women. This project started in 2014 as a single Stitching Training Centre, today, it has graduated to a ‘Production Centre’ with a turnover of more than 20 lakhs per annum, supporting the livelihood of more than 400 women across locations (Mejia, Sonadih and Arasmeta). All the women trained under project Aakriti have benefitted immensely from the skills imparted and most of them are now self-employed or have jobs. Due to its extraordinary success, the project was the winner of the FICCI CSR Award 2017-18 for Women Empowerment.

What efforts have been taken by your organisation in the education sector? What has its impact been on the children?
We have installed state-of-the-art smart classes in 40 government schools across five states. These smart classes have audio-visual course content in local languages from class 1 to class 12, making it easier for students in higher secondary classes to grasp complex science and mathematical concepts. These smart classes proved to be a huge boon for both students and teachers during the lockdown as they could use the content for online classes and ensure that learning wasn’t interrupted. Overall, the project has ensured that the quality of education in government schools is improved and that there is a rise in digital-forward education practices in rural areas that often tend to get left behind when it comes to adopting tech-based education.

How did the pandemic impact your community-building activities?
The pandemic has had a significant impact on our community development projects and initiatives. Due to the devastating impact of Covid-19 across the country, we had to pivot and shift our focus to relief related activities such as setting up Covid Care centres in villages, conducting sanitization drives, spreading awareness on Covid-19 protocols and providing sanitisers and face masks to the villagers.

In which areas are you planning to expand your CSR and community building activities? What results are you expecting from the same?
In the past few years, we have streamlined our CSR activities so that there is an increased focus on achieving Global Sustainable Goals. Last year, we added the theme of Sangrahit Bharat through which we will be focusing on natural resource management and promoting clean energy initiatives in villages. Apart from our other themes of health, education and livelihood, this theme will focus on promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, especially groundwater – an increasingly scarce resource across the country. We will work towards improving groundwater availability through recharging, rainwater harvesting and reducing the rampant use of underground water. This will involve activities such as constructing recharging pits, anicuts on small water streams and rainwater harvesting structures in local buildings.
We will also focus on promoting clean energy initiatives in villages by installing solar street lights, promoting the use of solar pumps, and installing small solar plants in community buildings like panchayat offices, primary health centres in villages, government school buildings, etc.

What are the biggest challenges you face while building and empowering communities around your plants?
One of the biggest challenges that we face while building and empowering communities around our plants is the matter of creating ownership of projects among stakeholders. Community members often feel that it is our responsibility to continue to run all the projects for an indefinite period rather than for a fixed period with a particular objective.
Also, since most of the villages we work with are situated in remote rural areas that lack basic infrastructure facilities, we often face resistance when it comes to implementing health, education and livelihood-based programmes. Hence, a lot of knowledge sharing, and awareness creation activities are conducted to convince communities to accept the facilities.

Tell us about the awards and accolades

won by your organisation for CSR and community building.
2015-16 – BT CSR Award by Bureaucracy Today for innovative CSR projects
2016-17 – FICCI CSR Award (Jury Recommendation) for Women empowerment
2017-18 – FICCI CSR Award for Women Empowerment
2017-18 – NGO Box CSR Award for Women Empowerment
2018-19 – FICCI CSR Award (Jury Recommendation) for Education.

–Kanika Mathur

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Cement Margins to Erode as Energy Costs Rise: CRISIL

CRISIL warns of 150–200 bps margin decline this fiscal

Published

2 hours ago

April 17, 2026

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Crisil Intelligence (CRISIL) released a report on April 13, 2026, indicating Indian cement manufacturers face margin erosion of 150–200 basis points this fiscal, reducing operating margins to between 16 per cent and 18 per cent. The firm noted that this represents a reversal from the prior year when margins expanded by 260–280 basis points. The analysis attributed the shift to rising input costs despite steady demand.

The report said that power and fuel, which typically account for about 26–28 per cent of production cost, are expected to increase by 10–12 per cent year on year, driven by higher prices for crude oil, petroleum coke and thermal coal. Brent crude was assessed as likely to trade between $82 and $87 per barrel, and industrial diesel prices rose by 25 per cent in March, raising logistics and procurement expenses. Such increases have therefore heightened cost pressures across the value chain.

Producers plan to raise selling prices by one–three per cent, which would put the average retail price of a cement bag at around Rs355–Rs360, according to the report. CRISIL’s director Sehul Bhatt was cited as saying that these hikes will at best offset a four–six per cent rise in production costs, leaving little room for higher profitability. The report added that intense competition and continual capacity additions constrain the extent to which firms can pass on costs.

Demand conditions remain supportive, with CRISIL projecting volume growth of six point five–seven point five per cent this fiscal on the back of accelerated infrastructure projects and steady industrial and commercial consumption. Nonetheless, the pace of recovery is sensitive to developments in West Asia, the speed of government infrastructure execution and monsoon performance. The agency noted that any further escalation in energy prices or delays in project execution would widen margin pressures.

Overall, the sector will continue to grow but with compressed margins as energy cost inflation outpaces the limited ability to raise prices. Investors and policymakers will therefore monitor both input cost trajectories and policy measures aimed at alleviating supply chain constraints.

Concrete

Haver & Boecker Niagara to showcase solutions at Hillhead

Focus on screening tech, diagnostics and quarrying efficiency

Published

2 hours ago

April 17, 2026

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Haver & Boecker Niagara will showcase its mineral processing technologies at Hillhead 2026, scheduled from June 23–25 in Buxton, UK.

At Stand PA3, the company will present its end-to-end solutions including screeners, screen media and advanced diagnostics, with a focus on improving efficiency, uptime and throughput for aggregates producers.

Highlighting its screen media portfolio, the company will feature Ty-Wire media with hybrid design offering up to 80 per cent more open area, alongside FLEX-MAT® solutions designed to enhance wear life and throughput while reducing blinding and clogging.

The showcase will also include its PULSE Diagnostics suite, comprising vibration analysis, condition monitoring and impact testing, aimed at assessing equipment health and preventing unplanned downtime.

Commenting on the event, Martin Loughran, Sales Manager, UK & Ireland, said, “Hillhead presents an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate how we deliver innovative technologies along with long-term service and technical support.”

The company will also highlight its Niagara F-Class vibrating screen, designed to reduce structural vibration and improve operational reliability under demanding conditions.

The participation reflects Haver & Boecker Niagara’s focus on supporting quarrying operations with advanced screening solutions and predictive maintenance technologies.

Concrete

Siyaram Recycling Secures Rs 21.03 mn Order From Anurag Impex

Domestic Fixed Cost Contract To Be Executed Within Seven Days

Published

2 days ago

April 15, 2026

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Siyaram Recycling Industries Limited (Siyaram Recycling) has informed the stock exchange that it has secured a purchase order for brass scrap honey from Anurag Impex. The company submitted the intimation on 10 April 2026 from Jamnagar and requested the filing be taken on record. The filing was made under the provisions of regulation 30 of the SEBI listing regulations and accompanying circular. The intimation referenced the SEBI circular dated 13 July 2023 and included an annexure detailing the terms.

The order carries a fixed cost value of Rs 21.03 million (mn) and is to be executed domestically within seven days. The contract was described as a fixed cost engagement and the customer was identified as Anurag Impex. The announcement specified that the order size contributes a short term consideration to the company. Owing to the brief execution window, logistics and dispatch were expected to be prioritised.

The filing clarified that neither the promoter group nor group companies have any interest in the purchaser and that the transaction does not constitute a related party transaction. Details were provided in an annexure and the document was signed by the managing director, Bhavesh Ramgopal Maheshwari. The company referenced compliance with SEBI disclosure requirements in its notification. The notice indicated that no related party approvals were required owing to the nature of the transaction.

The order is expected to provide a modest near term revenue inflow and to be processed within the stated execution window given the nature of the product and the fixed cost terms. Management indicated the contract will be executed in accordance with standard operational procedures and accounting recognition at completion. The development signals continuing demand in the secondary metals market for brass scrap.