Concrete

Social listening is a proactive process

Published

4 years ago

August 11, 2022

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Sameer Narkar, Founder & CEO, Konnect Insights – Prudence Analytics and Software Solutions, talks to ICR about the importance of technology and innovation, and why Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence will be game changers.

What is your observation on the overall cement industry in India?
The demand for the cement industry is growing exponentially because of the industry’s upsurge in commercial, housing, and industrial construction. The housing sector is the key contributor in the overall development, the activities declined or halted due to the lockdown during the covid 19 pandemic, however, significant market growth is expected in the coming years. Production-wise south India has maximum production capacity which adds 33 per cent overall cement production. In the wake of the Covid-19, the production has been affected due to the intermittent work and restrictions on allocating work.

India has seen a spur in the construction and infrastructure activities, what role would transformation and innovation play to enhance the customer experience in the cement sector?
Digital transformation and innovation have been key aspects for companies across every industry survive the pandemic over the last couple of years. Yes, there have been challenges but these have led to an important evolution leading to the digital first economy. While the cement industry is extremely traditionally driven, the brands have been forced to evolve and adopt digitally.
While the spur in construction and infrastructure activities spells more demand for cement companies, customers, being at the center of the complete buying cycle, are empowered to re-evaluate their choices and their interactions with these brands. They have power of information to make decisions that can work in favour of one brand or the other. In the same way, the organisations also need to reconsider the current or the potential ways they can influence the customers. All this mandates that cement brands have to be innovative and become digital savvy to attract, engage and get the new age customers interested in their brand.

Over the years what initiatives by the government have given a boost to cement sectors and business transformation has been a key aspect?
The Government of India is strongly focused on infrastructure development to boost economic growth and is aiming for 100 smart cities. Additionally, the Union Budget allocated Rs 13,750 crore (US$ 1.88 billion) and Rs 12,294 crore (US$ 1.68 billion) for Urban Rejuvenation Mission: AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, respectively and Rs 27,500 crore (US$ 3.77 billion) has been allotted under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
These factors contribute to the increased demand for the cement industry and cement companies are surely capitalising on this. Reiterating the fact that the demand is controlled by the customers and stakeholders in the supply chain, and they are the ones who will choose one brand over the other. That’s where technologies such as social listening, analytics and AI play an important part.

How would solutions such as social listening, analytics and AI help companies move to the next level and how do you see this impact the overall cement business?
Social listening is a proactive process, where with the help of a platform such as Konnect Insights, brands can listen to conversations of what is being spoken about the brand, its competition and the industry in real-time, across the web, social media, mobile apps, conversational channels, physical stores and so on. With this data the brand can determine where they stand in the market, how they compare with the others, what is their influence in the industry, what kind of customers are associating with the brand, what are the upcoming trends to expect.
With respect to customer experience management, AI-driven automation can come in handy when it comes to responding to customer queries for better productivity. Advanced workflows can reduce time taken due to manual processes, thus reducing customer churn and positively impacting customer loyalty.

How does Konnect Insights fit into the cement industry requirements and how are you able to technologically enable your customers in this domain?
Konnect Insights is an omni-channel customer experience management platform that enables cement brands take care of their identity, perception, positioning by ensuring complete customer experience management, no matter they channel they choose to interact, engage or voice out their opinions and experiences regarding the brand. Konnect Insights is used by some of the major players in the cement industry to offer value to their customers by unifying customer experience, marketing and analytics.

What technology trends do you foresee enabling the concrete sector?
Digitalisation and data will continue to drive evolution for the concrete sector. Business Intelligence technologies will play a crucial role to fuel decision making with regards to every aspect of the business be it processes, customer management, marketing, among others. AI is also definitely going to be a game changer that will improve processes and drive productivity. With automation and RPA, the cement industry can definitely amp up their production quantity and quality to meet the growing demands as well as provide superior products.

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India’s Cement Sector Cuts Energy Use, but Worker Safety Worsens

iFOREST finds efficiency gains alongside water and safety concerns

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2026

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India’s cement sector has improved its energy and carbon efficiency, but rising groundwater use in water-stressed regions and deteriorating worker safety remain significant concerns, according to a report by the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST). The findings also highlighted weak policy implementation and gaps in sustainability reporting.

India, the world’s second-largest cement producer, uses about 2.54 gigajoules of energy per tonne (GJ/t), below the global average of 2.88 GJ/t. However, renewable sources accounted for only 5.1 per cent of the sector’s energy mix, indicating continued dependence on conventional sources.

The report assessed 18 cement companies against 107 Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting indicators for FY24 and FY25. The companies covered 87 per cent of India’s cement production. Carbon emissions intensity declined from 0.58 to 0.57 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne, but total emissions increased 4 per cent to 224.3 mn t, equivalent to about 6 to 7 per cent of India’s overall emissions.

Overall water withdrawal declined 9.5 per cent during the study period, while withdrawals in water-stressed areas, mainly in Rajasthan, increased by more than 20 per cent. Groundwater’s share of withdrawals in these areas rose from 27 per cent to 38 per cent, raising concerns about the sector’s impact on vulnerable water resources.

The sector employs about 228,000 people, including 63 per cent contractual workers, 3.1 per cent women and 0.07 per cent persons with disabilities. Women in key managerial roles earned 26.8 per cent less than men, while median pay for women workers fell 11.1 per cent in FY25 as men’s pay increased. Worker injuries rose 36.5 per cent to 359, and fatalities increased from 17 to 22, with workers accounting for more than 90 per cent of deaths.

iFOREST recommended cement-specific reporting guidance, standardised metrics, mandatory production disclosure and third-party verification. It also called for environmental, social and governance policies to be integrated into business strategies and implemented more effectively on the ground.

Concrete

Ambuja Cements Expects Volume Growth to Outpace Industry in H2

Ambuja Cements sees stronger trade and institutional demand in H2 FY27.

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2026

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Ambuja Cements expects its sales volumes to grow faster than the cement industry during the second half of fiscal year 2027, as it seeks a recovery in institutional demand after a weak first half. The Gautam Adani-owned company is aiming to rebuild volumes while protecting profitability.

The company reported a 90 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit attributable to owners of the parent to Rs. 1.93 bn for the quarter ended 30 September, from Rs. 17.74 bn a year earlier. The previous year’s profit included a reversal of income-tax provisions worth Rs. 16.97 bn. Revenue from operations rose marginally to Rs. 91.66 bn from Rs. 91.3 bn.

Trade volumes increased 8.6 per cent year-on-year in the September quarter, but weaker institutional sales left overall volumes broadly unchanged. Ambuja Cements expects both trade and institutional sales to turn positive in the third and fourth quarters. Trade sales are made through dealers and distributors, while institutional or business-to-business sales involve bulk supplies to infrastructure developers, government projects and real estate companies.

The company had earlier reduced institutional sales that did not generate adequate returns. It now plans to rebuild the business selectively, while continuing to prioritise trade sales and higher-value products. Trade accounted for 74 per cent of sales in the quarter, up six percentage points from a year earlier, while premium products increased to 37 per cent of trade sales from 35 per cent. Blended cement’s share rose to 82 per cent from 77 per cent.

Ambuja Cements commissioned 4.6 mn t of capacity during the quarter. Another 3.2 mn t at Bathinda in Punjab and Jodhpur has stabilised, with the facilities expected to ramp up in the second half. A further 2.4 mn t facility at Varkala in Bihar is scheduled for commissioning during the period. Higher fuel and logistics costs remain a challenge, while the company has realised a cement price increase of about Rs. 10 per bag in October and is targeting operating costs of Rs. 4,250 per t for the full year.

Concrete

JK Lakshmi Cement Begins Rs 110 Billion Assam Plant Project

The 2.5 MTPA integrated cement plant is expected to be completed by FY2029.

Published

4 days ago

October 31, 2026

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JK Lakshmi Cement has recently laid the foundation stone for Project Kamakshi, its first integrated cement manufacturing facility in Assam, marking its entry into Northeast India. The groundbreaking ceremony was held at Umrangso village in Dima Hasao district in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The project involves an investment of Rs 110 billion, including the mining lease, and will have an annual cement production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes, supported by a 1 million tonne clinkerisation unit. Scheduled for completion by FY2029, the facility is expected to generate employment for over 2,000 people while catering primarily to the growing Northeast market.

The integrated plant will feature dedicated railway sidings to facilitate efficient transportation of raw materials and finished cement, strengthening supply chain reliability and regional distribution.

Vinita Singhania, Chairperson and Managing Director, JK Lakshmi Cement, said, “”Project Kamakshi is the start of a long-term relationship with Assam and the wider North East. This is a region that is building fast, and it deserves quality cement made close to home. With this plant, we want to bring scale, jobs, and dependable supply to the region. At JK Lakshmi Cement, we believe that building a stronger India goes beyond infrastructure. It is also about growing together with the communities we serve.””

The investment aligns with the company’s strategy to expand into high-growth markets beyond its established presence in Northern, Western and Eastern India. The project is also expected to support regional economic development and infrastructure growth.

JK Lakshmi Cement aims to pursue its expansion plans while working towards its long-term target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2047.