Concrete

CSR is an enabler of aspirations and achievements

Published

5 years ago

October 19, 2021

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Dalmia Bharat Foundation has an internal monitoring and evaluation wing that provides actionable insights to better execute CSR projects, shares Vishal Bhardwaj, Group Head- CSR, Dalmia Bharat Group and CEO of Dalmia Bharat Foundation.

Please tell us about CSR activities done in Dalmia? Do you believe that it helps in building a strong brand name and good customer base?

It is broadly divided into three buckets. So the first bucket is the livelihoods bucket wherein we work both on the farm and the non-farm sector. The second bucket under climate action is about our work on water and access to clean energy while the third is social development where the focus is largely on infrastructure building. The needs and requirements vary from geography to geography. We try to fill existing gaps in villages around us, be it in the schools, Anganwadis or health facilities. So, these are the three major buckets where we keep our CSR focus.

We sincerely believe that there cannot be a complete disassociation between CSR and business. Water is very important to us. Wherever we have our cement plants, we share the aquifers with the local communities that need water for agriculture and domestic consumption. We do not want to put any pressure on the available water resources. Even though cement is not a very water-intensive manufacturing process, still, even if we draw 1 per cent of water from the aquifers, we want to give back many times of that to the communities. It gives us immense pride to share that Dalmia Cement is almost 10 times water positive. So for every litre of freshwater that we take from the shared resources, we make sure that we create a harvesting and conservation capacity of 10 litres. It ensures the long-term sustainability of the business and acts as a risk management tool to avert any conflicts between us and the communities related to resource sharing.

Further, the cement business is a pretty energy-intensive business. Dalmia is one of the most sustainable and least carbon footprint cement manufacturers. despite that, we do not lose out on any opportunity to offset our footprints. Taking a step further, we also assist communities around us to offset some of their footprints by adopting clean energy solutions. At least 10-15 Kgs of wood is burnt in each household around us in kitchens and one can only imagine the level of carbon emissions and the impact of fumes on the health of women and children. So, we provided them access to fuel-efficient cook-stoves and alternative fuels like biogas and LPGs. Then we saw people burning kerosene for lighting purposes, which is the biggest cause of burn injuries in rural areas. We encouraged such households to switch to solar lighting solutions. Our intent is to make the environment around us as clean as possible. We cannot ignore the issue of livelihood of our stakeholders. Our work on water gives us a good opportunity to work with the farmers on improving their productivity, yield, and therefore income. Besides, in sync with the Skill India initiative, we started to skill individuals who didn?? work on farms with the aim of creating alternative employment opportunities for them.

What were your CSR spending for the year 2020 and 2021? What is the strategy for planning CSR spending?

CSR in Dalmia is more than 80 years old. We started CSR ever since our genesis, even though it was not called CSR back then. But the trusteeship approach was similar to CSR. A decade before the CSR laws were promulgated, we had already established our Dalmia Bharat Foundation and were proactively engaging with our stakeholder communities. Our CSR budgets are driven by program needs. The 2 per cent limit doesn?? restrict us from investing in CSR when it is required. It is a beginning point to ensure that we spend what is mandated. But more often than not, we have actually gone beyond the mandate.

How do you evaluate and monitor CSR activities?

We proactively seek to measure the change brought out by our initiatives. In the last five years, we have carried out some independent assessments. One of the most important of them was the social returns on investment (SROI). We have used it to measure the impact of our work and have seen encouraging results. For every rupee that we invest in the livelihoods and water space, we get a return of about Rs 7 and Rs 3 respectively. We have also undertaken participatory appraisals through independent partners. Recently E&Y conducted an impact assessment of our work on livelihood, skilling and water. This is integrated into our strategy also. We have a theory of change that encompasses what we aspire to do and how do we achieve it. We also have an internal monitoring and evaluation wing that provides us with actionable insights to better execute our projects.

What has been the impact of the pandemic on CSR activities in cement and other industries?

It is noteworthy that we didn?? lose the momentum of what we were doing with respect to the three buckets even during the pandemic. Covid 19 brought in a different kind of challenge and we thought that it was our responsibility to work for all the stakeholders and not just the villages around us. During the first phase of Covid with the national lockdown imposed, we offered shelter, ration and medical assistance to the needy. We contributed financially to the PM Care Funds and various Chief Minister Relief funds. We extended a mix of financial and material support to our stakeholders.

The challenge of the second wave was principally around oxygen supply. We actively set up isolation facilities, Covid treatment centres, supplied oxygen and other medical equipment to hospitals. We believe that vaccination is now key to control the third wave. Due to the digital divide, we helped the villagers in getting registered on the vaccination portal. Eventually, we organised vaccination camps and arranged for their to-and-fro transportation. In the last month (June 2021), we assisted about 17,000 people to get vaccinated and I am sure that we will surpass that number this month.

What kind of feedback do you get from stakeholders in terms of meeting business objectives and how does CSR help in achieving the ultimate business goals of a company?

While the structures that we create for our projects like water harvesting are clearly visible, the need is to go much beyond that. That’s where studies and assessments step in. The E&Y study looked at various indicators to assess the quality of life in our communities. Through the study, we were able to understand whether the spending of the individuals went up, have they shifted from kacha house to pakka house, or has their mode of transportation changed. From a business point of view, many community members look at Dalmia as a potential employer. We absorb many of them into our workforce and provide upskilling opportunities for others to find an alternative source of livelihood. This creates harmony between us and the communities.

What are the key challenges while undertaking CSR activities? What best practices would you recommend overcoming those challenges?

During the initial days, we faced challenges in terms of deciding the organization?? priorities and strategies. We have come a long way from that. Until a decade back, we collaborated with NGO partners who delivered quality work but there was no direct link with the communities. That?? when we decided to capacitate our foundation to forge direct relationships with the people. Today, the Dalmia Bharat Foundation has been able to garner partnerships with communities, government and other corporates. This has enabled us to amplify our work and bring in more resources. We have institutionalised our CSR roadmap for 2030. In 2015, we aligned our CSR objectives with millennium development goals and later incorporated sustainable development goals to ensure that there is continuity throughout. So, there are more opportunities than challenges for us in CSR.

What is your CSR budget and roadmap for the next few years?

In terms of the roadmap, we propose to continue working largely on the issues of livelihood and climate action, with skilling and water being the major focus of these verticals. This is going to be our focus for the next 8 to 10 years, in line with our roadmap for 2030. In terms of the budget, this year our cement business is mandated to spend about Rs 13 crore. But with our ongoing projects, my hunch is that we would be exceeding the budget. Upon adding the contributions of other group companies and our partners, the entire resource pool would be in the range of Rs 40-45 crore.

Concrete

Green Construction Through Cement Innovation

Published

2 hours ago

July 2, 2026

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Indian Cement Review (ICR) and Fuller Technologies brought industry, policy and technology leaders together to discuss how cement innovation can drive green construction at scale, writes Rakesh Rao.

India is building at a pace few countries can match. Highways, airports, housing, logistics parks, industrial corridors and urban infrastructure are reshaping the country’s economic geography. But beneath this growth story lies a difficult question: can India continue to build at scale without locking itself into a high-carbon future?

That question formed the core of an online panel discussion titled “Driving Green Construction Through Cement Innovation”, organised by Indian Cement Review (ICR) in association with Fuller Technologies as the Presenting Partner on June 25, 2026. The webinar brought together experts from cement technology, R&D, global industry platforms, building performance policy and international development cooperation to examine how low-carbon cement and material innovation can accelerate India’s green construction transition.

The discussion came at a crucial time. India has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 and reducing the carbon intensity of its economy by 45 per cent by 2030. At the same time, the country’s construction sector is expanding rapidly, driven by urbanisation, infrastructure development, housing demand and industrial growth. Cement, as one of the most widely used construction materials, sits at the heart of this transition. It is indispensable to development, but also central to the challenge of reducing embodied carbon in buildings and infrastructure.

Moderated by Nitika Krishan, Senior Urban Infrastructure and Sustainable Policy Consultant, the panel featured:

Kiranmai Sanagavarapu, Director, Low Carbon Solutions, Fuller Technologies;
Dr Hemantkumar Aiyer, VP and Head R&D, Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd;
Devika Wattal, Innovation Lead, Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA);
Dr Sunita Purushottam, MD, GBPN India (Global Buildings Performance Network); and
Vaibhav Rathi, Senior Technical Advisor, GIZ (the German Agency for International Cooperation)

Setting the tone for the discussion, Nitika Krishan underlined the scale of the challenge before the sector. “The question before us is no longer whether we build, but how we build sustainably,” she said. She pointed out that construction accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions when both operational and embodied carbon are considered. Cement production, she added, remains one of the hardest industrial processes to decarbonise.

For India, this is not merely an environmental issue. It is a development issue, a competitiveness issue and increasingly, a market issue. As one of the world’s largest cement producers and among the fastest-growing construction markets, India’s material choices will influence the carbon trajectory of its built environment for decades. As Krishan observed, sustainability solutions in economies such as India must not remain limited to laboratory success. They must be scalable, commercially viable and practical at national level.

The innovation gap: From technology to market

Experts believe that there is a need to bridge the innovation gaps for making decarbonisation in cement and concrete scalable. Devika Wattal of GCCA, explained, “The starting point must be the core cement manufacturing process itself. The first and foremost is the heart of our process, the heart of cement manufacturing. How do we reduce clinker? That is always a topic where industry is working very intrinsically.”

Clinker reduction remains one of the most important pathways for lowering emissions in cement. Since clinker production is energy-intensive and chemically emits carbon dioxide, reducing the clinker factor through supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), blended cements and new chemistries can have a significant impact. Wattal also noted that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will have a role, though it may not be the first lever for all markets.

However, she stressed that innovation cannot stop at technology development. A solution that works in the lab must also be adaptable to industry, scalable in production and acceptable in construction practice. “It is important for that innovation to be adaptable, to be scalable, and so that it can be executed in real time,” she said.

Wattal also called for stronger enabling systems around innovation. These include performance-based standards, product-level embodied carbon databases and clearer frameworks for evaluating green materials. Without these, low-carbon cement products may struggle to compete with conventional materials in procurement and design.

R&D must balance carbon, cost and performance

Bringing in the R&D perspective into the discussion, Dr Hemantkumar Aiyer of Nuvoco Vistas emphasised that low-carbon cement development cannot be treated as a single-variable exercise. Cement must perform in real construction conditions. It must deliver strength, durability, consistency and cost competitiveness, while also reducing carbon.

“The root of understanding and balancing all these aspects lies in materials, and knowing the materials,” he said.

According to Dr Aiyer, R&D teams must understand the variability of raw materials such as fly ash, slag and clinker. Different sources produce different material behaviours. This makes mix optimisation, material characterisation and processing-property relationships critical. When performance is affected, cement manufacturers must understand how strength enhancers, admixtures and other performance chemicals interact with the material system.

He also linked material science with process efficiency. Clinkerisation takes place at extremely high temperatures, around 1,400 to 1,450 degrees Celsius. Any improvement in raw mix design, process control or energy optimisation can, therefore, help reduce emissions and cost. Dr Aiyer pointed to artificial intelligence-based optimisation, Cement 4.0 tools and advanced software as important enablers for real-time process and material control.

“The more you understand the materials, the more you can control it,” he said.

LC3: The promise is proven, the sequencing is not

Limestone calcined clay cement, commonly referred to as LC3, has attracted global attention because it can reduce clinker content significantly by using calcined clay and limestone while maintaining performance in many applications. Kiranmai Sanagavarapu of Fuller Technologies said the technology itself has already moved beyond proof of concept. Fuller Technologies has worked with calcined clay technology for nearly two decades and has seen plants running in France and Ghana. These plants, she said, are meeting local and national specifications, while the economics are beginning to make sense.

“The calciner is performing, the economics is stacking up, it is making business sense to produce,” she said.

But if the technology is viable, why has adoption not scaled faster? For Sanagavarapu, the answer lies in project sequencing. Too often, clay characterisation happens after equipment is specified. This, she warned, is a backward approach because calciner design depends on clay mineralogy, kaolinite content, iron levels, reactivity, moisture and other variables.

“If you don’t know what your deposit looks like before you commit for the equipment, you are, in a way, going blind into designing,” she said.

She also identified permitting and plant integration as major bottlenecks. Environmental clearances, mining permissions and local regulatory approvals must begin early. Similarly, calcined clay must be integrated into existing grinding, blending and logistics systems from the design stage, not treated as an afterthought during commissioning.

India already has IS 18189:2023 standard for LC3, but Sanagavarapu pointed out that the standard is not yet visible enough in procurement documents. “The gap between what is technically being permitted and what the procurement is asking is the single biggest bottleneck,” she said.

In her view, successful scale-up depends on getting the sequence right: clay characterisation first, permitting in parallel, standards aligned with construction, and integration built into plant design.

India’s LC3 journey: Progress, but demand remains thin

Providing details of India’s LC3 commercialisation experience, Vaibhav Rathi of GIZ noted that JK Cement carried out the first commercial production of LC3 at its Rajasthan plant, followed by JK Lakshmi Cement three months later. These initiatives were supported by the International Climate Initiative of the Government of Germany, with IIT Delhi contributing deep institutional knowledge on LC3 research and BIS certification.

Rathi said India’s early experience has produced clear lessons. One of the biggest was the need to build capacity among regulators. While BIS certification existed, State Pollution Control Boards were unfamiliar with the technology and unsure about the approval pathway.

“The capacity building is not just needed amongst the producer and the users of the cement, but also the regulators who are working with this technology for the first time,” he said.

He also highlighted the need for better information on China clay deposits. Since China clay is currently classified as a minor mineral, centralised data on availability, quality and location is limited. If cement manufacturers are to adopt LC3 at scale, stronger mineral intelligence will be important.

The third issue is demand. LC3 has already been used in projects such as Palava City in Mumbai and Noida International Airport, but these remain limited examples. “It is in a chicken and egg situation,” Rathi said. “Cement companies are saying we need more demand, and users are saying there is not enough cement available.”

Public procurement, he suggested, could help break this cycle. If agencies such as CPWD and other public bodies begin testing, accepting and specifying LC3, it could create the market confidence needed for cement companies to invest in production and storage.

Building codes must catch up with innovation

Dr Sunita Purushottam of GBPN India argued that material choices will determine built environment emissions over the long term, but India’s current policy signals remain fragmented. Although LC3 has received BIS recognition, she pointed out that building codes, municipal bylaws, schedules of rates and sustainability codes do not yet provide uniform guidance on low-carbon cement.

“The current cement regulations are largely prescriptive and favouring traditional materials,” she said. This limits the ability of alternative materials to compete on performance, durability and emissions.

Dr Purushottam also raised the issue of taxation. Cement, including LC3, currently falls under the same GST bracket as conventional cement. A differentiated tax structure, she argued, could help accelerate market adoption. “In order for the market to demand LC3, that differentiation in the GST could go a long way,” she said.

She noted that green building certifications such as IGBC and GRIHA are already creating demand for low-carbon materials by assigning points for embodied carbon and sustainable material use. However, she said large-scale adoption will require regulatory mandates, particularly through building codes and state-level notifications.

She also cautioned that low-carbon cement alone does not solve the entire building performance problem. A material may reduce embodied carbon, but the operational carbon of a building depends on thermal performance, design, insulation and energy use. “The energy part has two elements,” she said. “One is the embodied carbon of the material itself, and the other is the operational carbon.”

Collaboration is the bridge between invention and impact

Wattal said GCCA sees innovation as a strategic priority and works through platforms that connect industry with academia and start-ups. “There is no way we will decarbonise our sector without innovation,” she said.

However, she stressed that research must be connected to actual industry challenges. Innovations developed in isolation may fail when they encounter real-world barriers such as raw material variability, plant integration, cost, standards and finance. Start-ups, too, need industry mentorship and scale-up pathways.

Wattal also flagged the importance of finance. Even strong technologies may struggle to attract investment if there is no common understanding of bankability. “We have always put projects into, is this a bankable project? But the definition of a bankable project has never been defined,” she said.

For India, she saw strong potential in its academic and start-up ecosystem, but said the challenge lies in alignment and prioritisation. The country has the research base, industrial capacity and market size. What it now needs is a coordinated route from innovation to deployment.

There is a practical concern for cement manufacturers: how can existing plants be adapted for lower emissions without compromising reliability or commercial viability?

Kiranmai Sanagavarapu addressed, “The reliability risk in calcined clay retrofit is definitely real, but it is almost always self-inflicted. The risk arises when a new process is added to an existing circuit without properly redesigning grinding and blending configurations.”

Existing cement plants, she explained, can take two broad routes. The first is external sourcing of calcined clay combined with mill optimisation. This requires lower capital investment and can potentially move in 12 to 18 months if other conditions are in place. It may reduce emissions by around 20 to 30 per cent. The second route is integrated calcination on site, which requires higher capital expenditure and longer lead times, but provides greater control over quality, supply and emissions reduction potential.

For Sanagavarapu, the principle is simple: low-carbon retrofits must be designed with intent. “Design it with an intent properly from the start. Start in the market conditions where the economics are already working,” she said.

Circularity: The overlooked advantage

According to Vaibhav Rathi, fly ash and slag are already well established in cement and construction (C&D), but construction and demolition waste remains underutilised. “C&D waste is a growing business opportunity which not many have taken up,” he said. India’s continuous construction and demolition activity creates huge volumes of waste, much of which contributes to air pollution, land degradation and material inefficiency. With the right processing and standards, this waste can be converted into useful construction products.

Rathi also pointed out that LC3 has a circular economy dimension that is often overlooked. It can use low-grade kaolin-rich clay left behind after high-grade clay is extracted for other applications. “LC3 is not only a low-carbon solution, but also a circular economy solution,” he said.

At the same time, he cautioned that LC3 in India is not yet cheap because it has not reached scale. Site-specific techno-commercial feasibility studies, supported jointly by development agencies and industry, could help companies assess whether LC3 production makes technical and financial sense at a given location.

Dr Purushottam added that India must address both low-carbon cement and construction waste together. “Both low-carbon cement and C&D waste go hand in hand. India does not have an option but to work on both,” she said.

Dr Aiyer called for policy shifts from both government and industry, including preferential purchasing of sustainable materials, minimum supplementary cementitious material requirements in public and public-private projects, and faster regulatory implementation. “If we can fast-track the regulatory standards and their implementation on the ground, that is the way to go,” he said.

From green ambition to green construction

Cement innovation is no longer only about chemistry. It is about systems. Low-carbon cement will scale only when technology, standards, procurement, finance, regulation, education and construction practice move together.

LC3 and other low-carbon technologies have shown promise. India has early commercial examples, strong research capability and growing market interest. But mainstream adoption will depend on whether demand can be created, regulators can be capacitated, standards can be embedded in procurement, and manufacturers can see a clear business case.

For a country building at India’s scale, the opportunity is enormous. Cement will continue to be central to infrastructure and urban development. The challenge now is to ensure that the cement used in India’s growth story carries a lower carbon burden.

Rakesh Rao

Participate in Cement Expo 2026 and discover how next-gen infrastructure can be built with innovations in cement.

Concrete

JK Cement Declared Preferred Bidder For Gilund Limestone Block

Shares Edge Higher As Company Wins Rajasthan Block

Published

2 days ago

June 30, 2026

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JK Cement gained after being declared preferred bidder for the Gilund Limestone Block in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, a lease area of 370.96 hectares. The firm saw its shares trade at Rs. 5550.05, up by 28.45 points or 0.52 per cent from the previous close of Rs. 5521.60 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 5569.15 and touched a high of Rs. 5625.00 and a low of Rs. 5531.00.

The stock recorded turnover of 1742 shares on the counter and the BSE group A stock with face value Rs. 10 has a 52 week high of Rs. 7565.00 on 20-Aug-2025 and a 52 week low of Rs. 4670.05 on 12-Jun-2026. Last one week high and low stood at Rs. 5625.00 and Rs. 5329.00 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 45.66 per cent, while institutions and non-institutions held 40.61 per cent and 13.73 per cent respectively.

The e-auction conducted by the Government of Rajasthan resulted in the company being declared preferred bidder for the mining lease, and the allocation will enable the company to plan phased development of the deposit, subject to regulatory approvals. The Gilund block spans 370.96 hectares and its allocation is intended to support raw material security for the company’s cement operations in the region. The designation follows the government auction process and will allow the company to plan development and integration of the deposit into its supply chain.

The current market capitalisation stands at Rs. 430.38 billion (bn), reflecting market response to the mining news and prevailing valuation levels for the sector. Investors and analysts will watch for formal allotment and related disclosures that can clarify timelines, capital expenditure and expected production profiles. The report is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice, and market participants are advised to consult advisers before making decisions.

Concrete

Star Cement Named Preferred Bidder For Boro Lakhindong Block

Preferred bidder for limestone mining lease in Assam

Published

3 days ago

June 29, 2026

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Star Cement has been declared the preferred bidder for the mining lease for Boro Lakhindong West Block following e-auctions conducted by the Government of Assam. The block is located in Boro Lakhindong Village, Umrangso Tehsil, Dima Hasao District, Assam, and extends over an area of 123 hectares. The estimated limestone resource is 207.822 million (mn) tonnes (t), a quantity that will supply raw material for cement production and support the company’s manufacturing operations in the region.

The company is engaged in the manufacturing and selling of cement clinker and cement and distributes products across the north-eastern and eastern states of India. Star Cement operates plants and logistics networks that procure and process limestone to produce clinker for cement, and the addition of Boro Lakhindong is presented as a strategic enhancement of feedstock availability. The preferred bidder status secures rights to the specified lease area under the terms of the auction process.

Financial results for the company in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 showed a consolidated net profit rise of 20.24 per cent to Rs 1,481.0 mn on an 11.54 per cent increase in revenue to Rs 11,735.5 mn compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Those results reflected higher sales volumes and revenue growth in the company’s primary markets and are cited in company disclosures accompanying the lease announcement. The reported performance provides context to the company’s ability to pursue and finance new mining lease opportunities.

Market reaction to the declaration was modest, with the scrip rising zero point thirty six per cent to trade at Rs 212 on the BSE. The award of the Boro Lakhindong lease concludes the e-auction process for the west block and assigns operational rights to Star Cement as the preferred bidder, subject to completion of statutory and contractual formalities.