Displaying items by tag: India

India: Shree Cement plans to mark Vijay Diwas, the Indian commemoration day for the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, with free donations of cement for the families of armed forces personnel who died in battle between 1999 and 2019. Under the Naman scheme, the family or the next of kin of a deceased veteran will be given free cement to build a house on a plot of land up to around 370m², according to the Times of India newspaper. The cement can be obtained in person from any of Shree Cement's manufacturing facilities spread across India.

India: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has fined ACC subsidiary Madukkarai Cement US$61,000 for fugitive emissions of clinker and cement dust in mid-2020. The Hindu newspaper has reported that inspections found dust in the village Kurumbapalayam, Coimbatore District, located on the eastern side of the cement plant. An ambient air quality survey in September 2020 revealed higher-than-prescribed particulate volumes.

In addition to paying the fine, the producer must comply with 19 instructions of the TNPCB for air pollution control and monitoring by 7 January 2021.

India: The board of directors of Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement has approved a planned increase in cement production capacity of 12.87Mt/yr. This will increase its capacity to 136Mt/yr from 123Mt/yr, at a cost of US$743m. The company says that the expansion will consist of new plants and upgrades to existing plants in the ‘fast-growing markets of the east, central and north regions of the country.’ This includes the upcoming Pali integrated cement plant in Rajasthan and capacity expansions at plants in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, that are due for completion in the 2022 financial year (1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022).

The producer said, “Given the company’s history of setting up capacities in record time, commercial production from the new capacities is expected to go on stream in a phased manner, by early 2023. This capacity addition will not impact the on-going deleveraging programme, which is on track to make UltraTech debt-free by the time the expansion program is completed.”

Aditya Birla group chair Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “This significant investment in a core infrastructure sector will accelerate the wheels of economic activity and aid the kick-start of the private investment cycle. The capital outlay, given the current economic backdrop, is aligned with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat programme. It is also a marker of UltraTech’s ascent from being India’s No.1 cement player to a national champion. The cement industry has been witnessing healthy volumes post-relaxation of lockdown, on the back of the government’s thrust on infrastructure, underlying demand from the rural economy and individual home builders. Given its pan-India presence, which will be further strengthened by the capacity expansion, UltraTech will be well-positioned to support the rising demand for cement in the country.”

India: Birla Corporation plans to raise US$20m through redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCD). It has allotted 1500 NCDs with a value of around US$13,500 on a private placement basis. The producer announced plans in August 2020 for an upgrade to its Durgapur grinding plant in West Bengal.

India: Orient Cement has entered into a share purchase, subscription and shareholder’s agreement with AMPTechnology and AMPSolar Systems. It will acquire a 26% stake in the latter for around US$0.6m. The Press Trust of India has reported that AMPSolar Systems is establishing a 13.5MW solar power plant in Maharashtra, where Orient Cement operates an integrated cement plant.

India: Police have made arrests in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh where cement was being bagged in falsely branded UltraTech Cement bags. The Free Press Journal has reported that the authorities confiscated over 1000 bags in the raid. They believe that the plant has been operative since 2018. Investigations continue, including a manhunt for suspected ringleader Jitendra Singh.

India: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim plans to invest US$112m in implementing waste heat recovery (WHR) plants across six of its cement plants in India by the end of 2022. The group has estimated a net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction of 0.5Mt/yr as a result of the installations, towards its target of a 65% total reduction between 2018 and 2030.

Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Magali Anderson said, "On our net zero journey, we set ourselves an ambitious scope-two target. I am very excited to see India leading the way by investing US$112m in WHR. This major step forward builds on our procurement teams’ work in renewable energy."

When commissioned, the new plants will double the group’s WHR power generation capacity in India.

India: The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee says that workers have cleared land in Jalpaiguri District on which for Star Cement to establish a 2.0Mt/yr grinding plant. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the planned US$61m grinding plant will receive its clinker from the company’s Lumshnong cement plant in Meghalaya.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Sanjay Kumar Gupta said that plant, which will bring the company’s total installed cement production capacity to 6.0Mt, will serve a state with a domestic cement demand of up to 25Mt/yr.

India: The Indian Department of Mines and Geology has fined Trishul Cements around US$13.6m for the alleged unlawful extraction of 14,000t of limestone from the Konuppalapadu limestone mine in Andhra Pradesh. The Times of India has reported that the state government terminated its lease of the land in relation to Trishul Cements in February 2020. Investigations unearthed continued mining activity at the site in Anantapur District, along with two other companies’ sites in the Muchakota forest area of the district.

India: Police have fired warning shots after protesters outside LafargeHolcim subsidiary ACC’s Sindri cement plant in Jharkhand threw stones at them, according to the Pioneer newspaper. Sub-divisional manager Satyendar Kumar’s officers made three arrests. Residents of Dhanbad district are reportedly protesting a lack of local jobs. ACC had been in talks with local people when the disturbance broke out.