The Cement Corporation of India, which is a Central Public Sector Undertaking, has 10 units. There are 10 large cement plants owned by various State Governments. The total installed capacity in the country as a whole is 159.38 million tonnes. Actual cement production in 2002-03 was 116.35 million tonnes as against a production of 106.90 million tonnes in 2001-02, registering a growth rate of 8.84%.
Major players in cement production are Ambuja cement, Aditya Cement, J K Cement and L & T cement.
Apart from meeting the entire domestic demand, the industry is also exporting cement and clinker. The export of cement during 2001-02 and 2003-04 was 5.14 million tonnes and 6.92 million tonnes respectively. Export during April-May, 2003 was 1.35 million tonnes. Major exporters were Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. and L&T Ltd.
The Planning Commission for the formulation of X Five Year Plan constituted a 'Working Group on Cement Industry' for the development of cement industry. The Working Group has identified following thrust areas for improving demand for cement;
- Further push to housing development programmes;
- Promotion of concrete Highways and roads; and
- Use of ready-mix concrete in large infrastructure projects.
Further, in order to improve global competitiveness of the Indian Cement Industry, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion commissioned a study on the global competitiveness of the Indian Industry through an organization of international repute, viz.