Shree Cement has inaugurated a 60 m³/hour ready-mix concrete plant in Patna, Bihar, under its Bangur Concrete brand. The facility takes the company’s ready-mix concrete (RMC) network to 36 plants across India and strengthens its presence in eastern markets.

The plant was inaugurated by Neeraj Akhoury, managing director of Shree Cement, in the presence of senior company officials and other guests. It has been established to serve demand for ready-mix concrete in Patna and neighbouring areas, where infrastructure development, urban expansion and real estate activity are supporting construction growth.

The facility is designed to supply construction projects across Patna and surrounding markets. Its installed capacity of 60 m³/hour will enable Bangur Concrete to serve customers across the region while improving distribution and supply capabilities in eastern India.

The expansion is intended to improve customer service, strengthen the company’s market presence and support development activity in Bihar. The plant incorporates modern batching technology, material handling systems and quality control processes aimed at maintaining consistency in production and improving operational efficiency.

With the addition of the Patna facility, Bangur Concrete now operates 36 RMC plants across India. The business is expanding its footprint in key construction markets to improve customer access to ready-mix concrete, which is increasingly used in infrastructure, commercial and residential projects because it supports controlled production, consistent quality and more efficient material management at construction sites.

The facility will also follow environmentally responsible operating practices, in line with Shree Cement’s focus on sustainable construction solutions. The latest addition adds capacity to the company’s RMC operations and supports its efforts to serve regional construction markets as development activity continues across Bihar.

Ambuja Cements has proposed a 2.9 mn tonnes per annum (MTPA) cement grinding unit in Godda district, Jharkhand, as part of a Rs. 145 bn expansion programme. The plan is intended to lift the company’s overall cement capacity to 155 MTPA by financial year 2029-30 (FY30), from its current 113.5 MTPA.

The proposal forms part of the Adani Group company’s wider manufacturing expansion across eastern and northeastern India, according to a company statement issued on Monday. The Godda unit would add grinding capacity to Ambuja Cements’ network and is intended to help serve demand in Jharkhand and neighbouring states.

Locating production closer to these markets is expected to reduce transportation costs and delivery times, while the project could support employment in plant operations, maintenance, logistics and administration. The company also linked the facility to indirect activity in transportation, contract services, construction, warehousing and local supply chains.

The expansion plan includes a 2.9 MTPA grinding unit each in Assam and Bihar, as well as additional clinker capacity in Assam. Together, the projects are designed to distribute manufacturing capacity more widely and improve the connection between clinker production and grinding operations, Ambuja Cements’ cement-business chief executive Vinod Bahety said.

Clinker is the intermediate material produced before it is ground and blended to make cement, making the Godda proposal part of a broader materials and logistics network rather than an isolated facility. Ambuja Cements has not provided a commissioning timeline, a Godda-specific investment breakdown, land details or a detailed employment estimate in the supplied announcement.

The project’s impact will depend on implementation of the plant, associated transport links and local supply chains. The announcement sets out the capacity objective but does not specify the project’s construction schedule or operational start date.

Dr KV Reddy, Chairman, CMA Committee, discusses the Indian cement industry’s advancements in water stewardship, and calls on policymakers to recognise and incentivise the endeavours taken in the right direction.

India’s water challenge is no longer simply about how much water the country receives. It is increasingly about where water is available, when it is available, how much can be sustainably accessed and whether natural systems are being replenished at the pace of withdrawal.
India supports nearly 18 per cent of the global population with around 4 per cent of the world’s renewable freshwater resources. The 2025 groundwater assessment presents a mixed picture: annual groundwater recharge has risen to 448.52 billion cubic metres (BCM), while annual extraction stands at 247.22 BCM. Yet 730 of the country’s 6,762 groundwater assessment units remain classified as over exploited, highlighting the highly localised nature of India’s water stress.
The cement industry is evolving with newer technologies and industrial operations are actively contributing to water replenishment, reuse, groundwater recharge and community water resilience.

From water efficiency to water positivity
More than 99 per cent of India’s installed cement capacity uses dry process manufacturing, a fundamental transformation from the highly water intensive wet process. Modern cement manufacturing primarily requires water for cooling, dust suppression,
greenbelt development and utilities. Water efficient technologies, including air cooled condensers and Waste Heat Recovery Systems, have further reduced water requirements associated with cooling and power generation.
The industry has simultaneously built extensive closed loop water management systems. Zero Liquid Discharge, wastewater recycling, sewage treatment and reuse of treated water have enabled plants to substantially reduce freshwater dependence while preventing untreated industrial wastewater from entering surrounding water systems.
The cement industry’s water story goes beyond efficiency. A growing number of operations have moved into water positive territory, with water harvested, recycled and recharged exceeding freshwater withdrawal when interventions within and around operations are considered. Industry assessments have reported water positivity at the collective level, alongside extensive rainwater harvesting, recharge and community conservation initiatives.
This transition is taking place against a groundwater system where national averages mask significant local stress. The Central Ground Water Board’s 2025 assessment records 448.52 BCM of annual groundwater recharge against 247.22 BCM of annual extraction, while 730 of 6,762 assessment units remain classified as over exploited, underscoring the importance of water stewardship at the local hydrological level. Within Cement manufacturing, NITI Aayog in its ‘Water neutrality for Indian industry: Standardisation of the definition and approach (2023)’ report notes that the shift from wet to dry processing has considerably reduced the sector’s water footprint, with the major remaining requirements identified as domestic use in plant colonies, dust suppression and quenching, and horticulture; it also documents the growing use of heat-recovery plants in place of water intensive captive power generation. Its sectoral assessment records water storage, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, wastewater recycling, mine pit harvesting, check dams and treated water reuse as measures being undertaken by cement companies, often with communities and local authorities. NITI Aayog’s 2026 Cement roadmap further confirms that nearly 99 per cent of cement plants have transitioned to energy efficient dry
kiln technology. Together, this evidence shows a sector that is not only reducing the water it needs to operate, but increasingly acting as a water steward – capturing rain, recycling and reusing water, recharging local aquifers and extending water conservation interventions into the communities and landscapes around its operations.
The significance is larger than a corporate sustainability metric. It demonstrates that a heavy manufacturing sector can reduce its own water footprint while contributing additional water value to the surrounding landscape.

Turning mines into water assets
One of the most distinctive contributions of the Cement Industry to water stewardship comes from limestone mining operations, where responsibly managed mine pits can capture and store substantial quantities of monsoon rainfall, serving as water reservoirs for operational needs, reducing freshwater dependence and, where hydrogeologically appropriate, supporting groundwater recharge.
The industry’s water stewardship experience includes mine pit reservoirs, check dams, percolation tanks, recharge shafts and rejuvenated village ponds as complementary water conservation measures. The distinction between harvested rainwater and groundwater is particularly important. Rainwater accumulated in mine pits is already being used for dust suppression, mining operations, greenbelt development and other purposes while reducing dependence on groundwater.

From plant level stewardship to community resilience
The cement industry’s water stewardship increasingly extends beyond plant boundaries.
Cement plants and limestone mines are often located in rural and semi-rural areas where communities depend on groundwater, ponds, agriculture and seasonal rainfall. Industry supported interventions such as village pond rejuvenation, check dams, recharge structures, watershed development and rainwater harvesting are creating benefits that extend well beyond industrial operations.

Policy should recognise what Industry is already delivering
The policy conversation should now evolve from asking Industry to conserve water to recognising and incentivising measurable water stewardship.
Groundwater regulations can better distinguish between groundwater extraction and rainwater stored in mine pits, supported by rainfall records, digital flow meters, telemetry and hydrogeological assessments. This would improve both regulatory accuracy and recognition of genuine water conservation.
Similarly, recharge linked incentives could reward industries that demonstrate verified reductions in freshwater dependence and additional recharge. Higher recharge rebates for water positive Industry can be considered.

From water positive operations to water secure landscapes
The cement industry has already travelled a considerable distance – from wet to dry manufacturing, from freshwater dependence towards recycling, from wastewater discharge towards ZLD, and from conventional rainwater harvesting towards integrated water stewardship.
India’s water security will ultimately depend on how effectively its available water resources are conserved, replenished and managed. Government, communities, agriculture and Industry all have a role to play. The cement industry has already demonstrated that heavy manufacturing can be water efficient, water circular and water positive.

About the author:
Dr KV Reddy, Chairman, CMA Committee represents the Indian cement industry on key environmental compliance, carbon reduction and climate action initiatives, while driving strategic dialogues on sustainability and net-zero roadmaps. He actively engages with government and statutory bodies, and state pollution control boards, to advance cleaner technologies and technical innovation.