Despite the recent challenges being faced by the Indian cement industry, the country’s largest producer, UltraTech Cement, has continued to press ahead with its expansion plans given expectations for long-term domestic demand growth potential. In the last year alone, it has commissioned five cement projects to help meet the country’s infrastructure and housing requirements with new facilities established closer to consumption hubs.
Over the past year, the Indian cement industry has witnessed challenging times with lower demand growth due to high fiscal deficit, high inflation and a worsening current account balance. A slowdown in global cement demand also aggravated sluggish consumption in the Indian cement sector which recorded growth of just 5.6 per cent in FY13 compared to a seven per cent advance in FY12.
