The year we have left behind was one of the toughest ones ever, but we kept going with focus and resoluteness, and emerged closer to the targets we had set for ourselves. Growth with sustainability has become our enduring focus and we kept to this agenda during the year, using the limited opportunities available to control costs, achieve incremental operating gains and increase our sales and market share.
The positive demand scenario for the cement market in India persisted through the better part of the pandemic. Other than being a silver lining in an otherwise bleak year that saw severe input cost volatility, it has also served as a very strong affirmation for the future. India has a per capita cement consumption of 195 kgs. With the government push towards large-scale infrastructure creation and rapid urbanisation, the growth trajectory that can bring us close to the global per capita average of more than 500 kgs, is already underway. The challenge that lies ahead is to achieve this growth in a sustainable and environment-friendly way.
