Economy & Market

Developing economies & response to pandemic

Published

7 years ago

January 9, 2020

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In these unprecedented times of COVID-19, the health impact coupled with the economic headwinds, leaves many of the developing economies vulnerable, but some are coping with the impact better than the others; those that are doing better have firstly a robust primary health care system that is able to take the additional impact of health "overload" and coupled to that they have a close knit localised "controlled" programme of identifying, isolating and providing affordable health care which forms the backbone of the recovery. More importantly, these economies have been able to find traction between a ‘central’ (larger) outlook on response with the "local" administration of the response, health and economic included.

Emerging and developing economies have several contending issues at hand, sharp drop in trade and tourism, dampened capital flows, much tighter credit conditions, ebbing remittances and of course a debt pile that blunts the fiscal expansion prospects. A few of them have to still solve banking woes, stemming from NPAs and some of the sectors to which the banking system owes its loans to have slowed due to lack of demand.

East Asia is now slated to grow at a scant 0.5 per cent, South Asia will contract by 2.7 per cent, Sub-Saharan Africa by 2.8 per cent, Middle East and North Africa by 4.2 per cent, Central Asia by 4.7 per cent and Latin America by 7.2 per cent.

These were the last numbers from the World Bank (June 2020). Are there some success stories within these grim tales, some stand out like Vietnam or Indonesia while India has been able to keep the mortality rates very low, which is also commendable. Vietnam has dealt with the pandemic with exemplary dexterity by eliminating the spreading roots, while Indonesia has taken a twin program of fighting the pandemic together with focus on job creation.

Vietnam’s first case was reported in early January’20 but in no time the country was ready with a comprehensive plan to respond to the health crisis, first with a proactive plan on "target testing" with three degrees of "contact tracing" for each positive case with large Government centers providing quarantining arrangements and in no time the borders were closed for all foreigners. With the full experience of SARS, Vietnam had the infrastructure and the processes fully tried and tested but its vibrant primary health infrastructure had enormous room to expand in times of crisis; health care expenditure increased by 9 per cent year on year per capita after SARS, EBOLA and ZIKA, making most of the health statistics far better than most developed nations.

The biggest success story can be summarized by Vietnam’s ability to provide Test results within 80 minutes, which many of the developed nations took five to six days, which made the testing useless. This is also the reason that Vietnam could test 1,000 people for each tested positive case, which is the highest in the world; Vietnam today has about 1,000 detected cases and have reported only two deaths so far.

Economic response to any pandemic must start with the focusing on the heath sector and past pandemics were taken as a learning opportunity, those who have done better this time have actually sharpened this focus with an unprecedented preparedness.

The others on this list are Indonesia, who have now merged their disaster recovery task force with the National Economic Recovery taskforce under the Economic Affairs Minister and the full focus on State Owned Enterprises to take the economy out of the unemployment crisis is a distinguishing feature of the recovery. Also Indonesia has factored in a long and arduous battle with the virus and have taken long term view of things to come. Their response to the recent job losses is directed to long term strategy to capitalise on the recent apathy of many global firms to stay anchored to supply chains deeply embedded in China. The other centralised focus has been to direct credit assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises. This diversity of credit assistance that touches vast sections of people and business is a distinguishing feature for Indonesia.

Finding a balance between two potentially competing forces, health and economic interests is one of the key drivers of success.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Procyon Mukherjee works as Chief Procurement Officer at LafargeHolcim India. The ideas presented are his personal and have no connection to the beliefs of the company where he works.

Concrete

Wonder Cement appoints Mahesh Singh as VP Corporate Brand Communication

Published

6 days ago

October 9, 2026

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Singh brings 20+ years of brand and marketing experience, and will lead integrated corporate brand communication initiatives at Wonder Cement

New Delhi

Wonder Cement, a leading cement manufacturer, has appointed Mahesh Singh as Vice President – Corporate Brand Communication. In his new role, he will oversee corporate brand strategy and communication, including digital and performance marketing, public relations, trade, events, exhibitions, sports and experiential marketing.

Singh brings over two decades of experience across marketing and communications, with roles spanning the automotive industry, agencies and entrepreneurship. He spent more than a decade with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, working across integrated communication, media, digital, retail and consumer engagement. His stint also included helping build the company’s digital marketing capabilities.

He moved to dentsu X India as Vice President – Strategy & Planning, working across categories such as automotive, auto components, electric vehicles, FMCG, consumer electronics, BFSI, apparel and brand consulting. His responsibilities included media and marketing strategy, product launches, content, performance marketing and consumer activations.

Singh subsequently took an entrepreneurial route with Radiant Brands before joining Shriram Ltd (SPR Autotech) as Head – Marketing & Communications. There, his remit included brand and corporate strategy, communications, PR and ORM, retail identity, loyalty programmes and events.

At Wonder Cement, Singh will be responsible for bringing together the company’s corporate brand communication initiatives across digital, performance marketing, PR, trade, sports and experiential platforms. The role will focus on creating an integrated approach to communication across consumers, trade partners and other key stakeholders.

The appointment brings to Wonder Cement a marketer whose career has spanned the brand, agency and entrepreneurial sides of the communications ecosystem.

Wonder Cement, part of the RK Group, is a cement manufacturer with roots in Rajasthan and a focus on quality, trust and transparency. The company has grown to six manufacturing plants, and a cement capacity of 21.5 MTPA. With more than 2,000 employees and a network of over 5,000 dealers, its operations span manufacturing, distribution and customer engagement, with a focus on consistent product quality and efficient execution.

Concrete

JSW Cement commissions additional 1 MTPA grinding unit at Nagaur

Published

7 days ago

October 8, 2026

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With this commissioning, JSW Cement’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 25.10 MTPA,
Mumbai

JSW Cement, one of India’s leading green cement producers and part of the diversified JSW Group, today announced the successful commissioning of an additional 1.00 MTPA cement grinding unit at Nagaur, Rajasthan. The commissioning marks another significant milestone in the Company’s growth strategy.

With this commissioning, JSW Cement’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 25.10 MTPA, while its total clinker manufacturing capacity, including clinker capacity at its joint venture, JSW Cement FZC, stands at 9.74 MTPA.

JSW Cement had commenced operations in North India in March 2026 with the Nagaur Integrated Plant, comprising a 3.30 MTPA clinkerisation unit and 2.50 MTPA cement grinding unit. With the commissioning of the additional 1.00 MTPA cement grinding unit, the plant’s total cement grinding capacity has increased to 3.50 MTPA, enhancing the company’s ability to cater to the growing cement demand across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the National Capital Region (NCR). The expansion has been funded through a strategic mix of equity and long-term debt.

During the quarter ended 30th September 2026, JSW Cement has also commissioned the Alternate Fuel Handling System and the Waste Heat Recovery system (WHRS) at the Nagaur Integrated Plant.

Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement, said: “The commissioning of additional 1.00 MTPA grinding capacity at Nagaur is a key strategic priority for us and will accelerate JSW Cement’s expansion into North India. We look forward to servicing the growing needs of the region and contributing to the economic growth of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the NCR area. I am delighted to share that the company has commissioned this grinding unit within the expected timeline, showcasing our project execution capabilities. Further, the Alternate Fuel Handling System and the Waste Heat Recovery system (WHRS) are expected to substantially reduce our production costs going forward.”

Concrete

UltraTech becomes first Indian cement firm to cross 2 GW green energy

Published

1 week ago

October 7, 2026

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UltraTech Cement has crossed 2 GW of captive green energy capacity, with renewables and waste heat recovery meeting 48 per cent of its power needs.

Mumbai

UltraTech Cement Limited has surpassed 2 GW of installed green energy capacity for captive use, becoming the first cement company in India to achieve the milestone. The Aditya Birla Group company commissioned 116.55 MW of wind capacity at its Inter-State Transmission System-connected wind-solar hybrid project in Barmer, Rajasthan, along with 10 MW of Waste Heat Recovery System capacity at Sarlanagar Cement Works in Karnataka.

With these additions, UltraTech’s cumulative installed green energy capacity has reached 2,024 MW. This includes 1,580 MW of renewable energy capacity and 444 MW of waste heat recovery capacity, together meeting around 48 per cent of the company’s current power requirements.

The company said the milestone reflects the progress of its long-term energy transition strategy. In FY27 so far, nearly one-third of UltraTech’s 76 manufacturing units in India have maintained green energy utilisation above 50 per cent of their electricity requirements, while five units have crossed 95 per cent.

K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement Limited, said, “Crossing the 2 GW green energy milestone is the result of a strategy we have pursued consistently over the past decade. Cement is an energy-intensive, hard-to-abate sector, and showing that reliability and growth can go hand in hand with a rapid shift to green energy sets a benchmark for the industry. With nearly half of our power needs now met through green energy, we are significantly less exposed to fossil fuel supply constraints and power price volatility. As we scale up renewables, waste heat recovery and battery storage across our operations, we are building an energy foundation for stable, long-term growth.”

UltraTech commissioned 430 MW of green energy capacity in FY26 and continues to expand its renewable energy and waste heat recovery portfolio.

The company is also progressively integrating Battery Energy Storage Systems across its operations to improve renewable energy utilisation and supply reliability.

In 2025, UltraTech operationalised what it described as India’s first on-site hybrid round-the-clock renewable energy project at Sewagram Cement Works in Gujarat. The project combines solar, wind and battery storage.

As part of its decarbonisation strategy, UltraTech said it has not invested in new captive thermal power capacity for either greenfield projects or brownfield expansions at its integrated units for more than a decade.

The company said its expanding green energy portfolio is helping reduce dependence on conventional grid electricity and fossil fuel-based power, while lowering exposure to fluctuations in coal and electricity prices.

UltraTech aims to increase green energy’s share in its total power mix to 85 per cent by 2030. As a member of RE100, it has also committed to meeting 100 per cent of its electricity requirement through renewable sources by 2050.

UltraTech Cement, the cement flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, has a total grey cement capacity of 210.1 MTPA and white cement and putty capacity of 3.5 MTPA. The company is also a signatory to the GCCA Climate Ambition 2050 and has committed to the GCCA Net Zero Concrete roadmap.