The history of cement manufacturing in India can be traced back to 1889 when a private firm in Calcutta began manufacturing

cement from Argillaceous. However, only in 1990s the cement industry took an organized shape. In 1914, the Indian Cement Company Lts started cement production in Porbnandar with an output of 10,000 tons and a production of 1000 installed capacity. The First World War gave the initial momentum to the cement industry in India and the segment demonstrated a geometric growth in terms of installed capacity, number of manufacturing units and the volume of output. Cement industry is one of the key industries in India. It ranks second immediately after iron and steel industry. The production and consumption of cement to a large extent indicates countrys progress. Cement is a global commodity, manufactured at thousands of local plants. Because of its weight, cement supply via land transportation is expensive, and generally limited to an area within 300 km of any one plant site. The demand for cement depends mainly on the industrial activities, real estate business, construction activities and investment in the infrastructure sector. According to the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), cement sales for May 2012 were registered at 16.26 million tonnes (MT), which signifies a 14 percent growth over the same period in 2011. (shine.com) The Indian cement industry is the 2nd largest market after China accounting for about 7-8% of the total global production which is ahead of the United States and Japan. Cement is an essential component of infrastructure development and most important input of construction industry, particularly in the governments infrastructure and housing programs, which are necessary for the countrys socioeconomic growth and development. It is also the second most consumed material on the planet. It is consented to be a core sector accounting for approximately 1.3% of GDP and employing over 0.14 million people. Also the industry is a significant contributor to the revenue collected by both the central and state governments through excise and sales taxes. The housing sector is the biggest demand driver of cement, accounting for about 64% of the total consumption. The other major consumers of cement include infrastructure (17%), commercial & institutional (13%) and industrial segment (6%).

In India, cement production normally peaks in the month of March while it is at its lowest in the month of August and September. The cyclical nature of this industry has meant that only

large players are able to withstand the downturn in demand due to their economies of scale, operational efficiencies, centrally controlled distribution systems and geographical diversification. History of Cement industry in India: 1947 1969: Rapid growth stage 1969-1982: Control Period 1982-1989: Partial Decontrol 1989 onwards-till date: Total Decontrol

The manufacturing process of cement consists of mixing, drying and grinding of limestone, clay and silica into a composite mass. The mixture is then heated and burnt in a pre-heater and kiln to be cooled in an air-cooling system to form clinker, which is the semi-finished form. This clinker is cooled by air and subsequently ground with gypsum to form cement. There are different varieties of cement based on different compositions according to specific end uses, namely, ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT, PORTLAND POZZOLANA CEMENT, WHITE CEMENT, PORTLAND BLAST FURNACE SLAG CEMENT and SPECIALISED CEMENT. The basic difference lies in the percentage of clinker used.

All India Cement Production (Percentage change) vs. All India Cement Capacity Utilization vs. India GDP (Percentage change) (2004-05 base) Since the demand of cement is seasonal in nature, declines during the monsoon (July-Sept) quarter and increases during Jan-March quarter, figure 1 shows yearly cement production

percentage change. As seen in figure 1, lesser increases in all India cement production numbers (Mar-08, Mar-09, and Mar-10) indicate lower demand for cement. While from late 2007 to early 2009, the decrease in percentage increase of cement production numbers can be attributed to the global crisis, due to which commercial and housing real-estate industry saw a decrease in demand (refer to Section 2.2.1 to see impact of real estate on Indian cement industry), the capacity utilization levels also declined to 85% level signalling supply constraints exercised by cement manufacturers. In 2011, the capacity utilization has gone up to 92% which could be on the back of very less increase cement capacities on the back of declining increases in cement demand. ABOUT DALMIA CEMENT: The Dalmia Group of Companies came into existence in India in the early 1930s as the Dalmia-Jain Group. Founded by Jaidayal Dalmia, the company has also diversified itself in the area of iron-ore, travel and export activities. In 1993, it became one of the first cement plants in India to have an installed capacity of 250 tonne cement per day. In the same year it became first company in south India to receive ISO 9002 certification. It also forayed in sugar business with an installed capacity 2500 TCD. In 2004 the company received ISO 14001 certification. Currently the company has a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of cement and 7500 TCD of sugar. The company also owns 80 MV of captive power plant. Products Cements- the company manufactures portland cement of two grades 43 and 53 and portland pozzolana cement. The company markets its products under the brand name Vajram. Sugar- The company has grown from single sugar manufacturing unit to three operational units with an installed capacity of 22500 tons of cane crush per day leading to sugar manufacturing of about 300,000 MT per annum. The company has received National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2007 conferred by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The company ranked no.1 in Energy Conservation in the Cement Sector at National Energy Conservation Awards.

Eswer Cements will soon be amalgamated with Dalmia Cement Bharat. DCBL is setting up two greenfield projects, each of 2.25 million tonnes capacity, located at Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh and at Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. Dalmia Bharat Cement Limited (DCBL) has set up over 53 windmills in Tamil Nadu to generate inexpensive and eco-friendly captive power for their plant. With the plant located close to its source of raw materials, they keep their freight and transport costs low, which gives an edge over the competitors. DCBL enjoys a significant market share today. The USP of DCBL is innovation, which had given them a leadership position in niche. Apart from establishing their footprints across various business segments, they also kept their pace of excellence. In 1993, DCBL became the first company in South India ro obtain ISO 9002 certification and second in the country among Indian Cement Plants. In 2004, DCBL became an ISO 14001 certified company. The some if the competitors of Dalmia Cements are: Ultratech Cement, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Madras Cement, Birla Corporation