December 15, 2023, Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi

The 7th Indian Cement Review Awards 2023, celebrating excellence and innovation, showcased the remarkable achievements of key players in this crucial sector. Getting impetus from the Awards, cement manufacturers are accelerating production, in a bid to go from 580 MT to 700 MT over the next three years. Covering categories such as sustainability, technological advancements and operational efficiency, the awards fostered a spirit of growth, collaboration, and competition, in the growing Indian cement sector.

The Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi was abuzz with excitement as the stalwarts of the Indian cement industry eagerly waited for the curtain to be raised on the 7th Indian Cement Review Awards 2023, on the afternoon of 15th December 2023. After having witnessed the 9th Indian Cement Review Conference and the 14th Cement EXPO, the stakeholders of the industry had all gathered at the majestic Zorawar conference hall to witness their peers being awarded and applauded for their contribution to the industry’s sustainable and exponential growth.
For the past nine years, Indian Cement Review magazine has been hosting its annual awards to encourage innovation and economic growth of cement companies and allied businesses. This year, the entire industry was present to extol these achievements, in the presence of the guest of honour Lt General Raghu Srinivasan, Director General, Border Roads Organisation.
The awards categories included Fastest Growing Cement Companies in Large, Medium and Small categories; Excellence in Sustainability (Cement Supply Chain); and Product of the Year. The crowning glory of the day was the Lifetime Achievement
Award 2023.

37th ICR Annual issue Unveiled
Attending the Indian Cement Review Awards is a requisite for the go-getters of the industry as it recognises talent, growth, innovation and endeavours of the people involved in building it. The Awards ceremony started with the auspicious lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JK Lakshmi Cement, along with Pratap Padode, Founder and President FIRST Construction Council; Falguni Padode, Co-Founder and Group Managing Editor, ASAPP Info Global Group; and Sumit Banerjee, Chairman Editorial Board, Indian Cement Review.
Pratap Padode started the proceedings with his opening speech, wherein he welcomed the guest of honour Lt General Raghu Srinivasan. He also put forth important statistical data about the industry’s growth. He pointed out that in 2023 the listed cement companies are valued at 7 trillion, which was 5.8 trillion in 2021, while the total market is at
356 trillion. “The100-trillion market growth gives much headroom for the industry to grow towards its goals from 580 MT to well over 700 MT by 2027,” he said. This was followed by a presentation by Tanveer Padode, Chief Information Officer, ASAPP Info Global, on the new developments within the company.
The chief guest unveiled the Indian Cement Review Annual issue, with Vinita Singhania, Pratap Padode, Sumit Banerjee, Dr Jayprakash Rao, Group President (International), Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, and KK Taparia, Advisor, Vadraj Cement, in attendance.

Felicitating the Jury
Lt General Raghu Srinivasan felicitated the jury members who had been the deciding force behind the 7th ICR Awards. The list of jury members is as follows:

1. Dr Jayprakash Rao, Group President (International), Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon
2. Debobroto Banerjee, Director and CEO, EWAC Alloys
3. Sumit Banerjee, Board of Governor, FIRST Construction Council
4. KK Taparia, Advisor, Vadraj Cement
5. Dr LP Singh, Director General, NCCBM
6. Nagesh Veeturi, Executive Director-Civil, KEC International
7. Rahul Deshmukh, Managing Director, Fives Group
   
8. In his speech, Lt General Raghu Srinivasan, Director General, Border Roads Organisation, applauded the endeavours of cement manufacturers towards sustainability and called for collaborative action. He said, “We have projects in every border state of the country. We cover deserts, high mountains, rainforests, etc. construction in these diverse regions depends on the season. In the North, you cannot work during winters, neither with bitumen nor with cement. In the Northeast, you can’t work during the monsoon season. This is one of the challenges that we need to look at and have an interface with the cement industry to come with something that works for us in these typical working conditions. We use roughly 0.3 million mt of cement every year – that’s our orderbook. But this comes with a rider. Since we are from the government, we work as per its processes. However, we are doing innovative work in many fields, and now I’ve realised that cement is one of the fields that we should engage with. We would be delighted to engage with new products, give no-costs-no-commitment trials. Let me assure you that you could have no better gold standard than working with us because if you are able to work in the kind of conditions that we face, then you can perform anywhere.”

Conclusion
While speaking about winning the Lifetime Achievement Award, Vinita Singhania said, “I feel good, but I definitely feel that lifetime awards are given to people who have hung their boots. I want to still do more work and dedicate myself to the nation and keep doing work that is more apt for today’s world.”
With such inspirational leadership at the forefront, the 7th Indian Cement Review Awards 2023 unfolded as a grand celebration of excellence, innovation and sustainable achievements within the cement industry. The awards celebrated the achievements of thought leaders and also set the stage for a future marked by sustainable growth, innovation and collaboration. The event underscored the industry’s resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to excellence, providing a roadmap for continued success in the years to come.

Our Partners
The 7th Indian Cement Review Awards 2023 were supported by:

• Gold Partners – ABB, Gebr Pfeiffer, JK Cement, and Flender Drives
• Silver Partner – TIDC India
• Presentation Partners – ATS Conveyors, ISGEC Heavy Engineering, KHD Humboldt Wedag,

Loesche and Taiheiyo Engineering Corporation

• Associate Partners – IKN Engineering, Star Cement and Evonik
• Media Partner – Cement and Its Applications
• Association Partners – Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA)
• Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), National Council for Cement and Building

Materials (NCCBM), Cement Manufacturers Association of Nepal, and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT)

• The 7th Indian Cement Review Award winners:
• Sr No Award Category Winner
• Lifetime Achievement Award Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman & Managing Director,
• JK Lakshmi Cement
• Fastest Growing Cement Company (Large Category) UltraTech Cement
• Second Fastest Growing Cement Company (Large Category) JK Cement
• Fastest Growing Cement Company (Medium Category) JSW Cement
• Second Fastest Growing Cement Company (Medium Category) JK Lakshmi Cement
• Second Fastest Growing Cement Company (Medium Category) Star Cement
• Fastest Growing Cement Company (Small Category) Udaipur Cement Works
• Second Fastest Growing Cement Company (Small Category) Shree Digvijay Cement Company
• Excellence in Sustainability (Cement Supply Chain) GreenLine Mobility Solutions
• Excellence in Sustainability (Cement Supply Chain) Global Technical Services
• Product of the Year ATS Conveyors India

Lifetime Achievement Award

The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director,
JK Lakshmi Cement. As she stepped on the stage to accept her award, she graced the audience with an inspiring speech and warmed everyone’s heart with her humility.
She said, “I would like to thank the honoured guests, my colleagues, and ladies and gentlemen. The Lifetime Achievement Award is a great honour for me. In the realm of Indian cement industry, it is my immense gratitude that I receive this recognition and I extend my sincere thanks to the organisers, my peers and everyone who has been part of this incredible journey. I dedicate this award to my entire team. Though on a lighter vein, I believe that the Lifetime Achievement Award is meant for people who have hung their boots. But I’m still continuing to work with full energy and dedication, as I believe this famous quote – ‘Forget your age. If you still have dreams to achieve, you are young.” Nevertheless, thank you for choosing me for this Award.
I remember when I entered the industry in the late 1980s, with a basic understanding of management philosophy, a lot of eyebrows were raised, as it was thought that cement industry has been a male-dominated one. But over a period of time, I picked up the required knowledge to operate the business. Being a woman, handling business and family simultaneously, during my first few years, was more challenging for me. But my great team helped me a lot to achieve the excellence. Coming from a background where we always focus on environment, education and health, I started to devote my whole time to understand and execute these activities wholeheartedly.
I also emphasised on green process like waste heat recovery system. As of today, our plants are running an approximately 40 per cent renewable energy, though we would like to double it by 2030.
Having spearheaded education and skill development, I am happy to see women coming in the areas where we are working today. We should invest our time, effort and capital to educate and empower women for growth, upliftment and independence. By doing so, we can contribute to the future of shattering gender barriers and ensuring that women’s potential is fully involved.
At last, once again, thank you very much for this honour. I look forward to the continued growth and success of the Indian cement industry. At this moment, I would also like to wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year, which is around the corner. Thank you! Namaskar!”