Govt to certify more foreign cement firms

To meet the growing demand of cement and to control its price, the government has speeded up the process of certification of foreign cement manufacturers.

This was stated by Ajay Dua, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion, on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) seminar today.

"Though the demand for cement in the country has been rising 10-12 per cent annually, the supply is increasing by 6-8 per cent. This has created a gap in the demand and supply of cement," Dua said, adding that a cell had been set up in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to expedite the process of certification.

Bangladesh and Bhutan had applied for certification. However, their capacities were not enough to meet the demand and hence they were denied permission, said a source.

"Big manufacturers from Pakistan have also applied for certification. With increased availability, the prices of cement are expected to soften," Dua said. He added that builders and the state governments were demanding relaxation in cement import norms.

The government has already brought down the import duty and the countervailing duty on cement to zero. However, due to long-drawn BIS certification procedures, not much cement was able to enter the market, sources in the industry said.