The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, recently conducted a consultation with representatives of the Indian Cement Industry to streamline the collection of cement production data, ensuring comprehensive coverage across the sector.

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Cement stands as one of India's eight core industries, accounting for a significant 5.37 per cent weightage in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The DPIIT utilises cement production data to calculate the Index of Eight Core Industries, a vital metric for economic analysis and policy formulation.

With India boasting the second-largest cement industry globally, boasting an installed capacity of 600 million tonnes and production reaching 391 million tonnes in 2022-23, accurate data collection becomes imperative for informed decision-making.

However, challenges arise as certain cement plants fail to provide data regularly, hindering the accuracy and reliability of the information.

Sanjiv, Joint Secretary said that DPIIT is giving Ad-hoc permissions to cement plants as part of Ease of Doing Business, for the manufacturing and sale of cement without ISI mark for a period up to 150 days or till the plant gets BIS certification, whichever is earlier. In the future, registrations on the CIS portal will be a prerequisite for considering the proposal for the granting of ad-hoc permission.

Joint Secretary DPIIT also informed that the CIS portal is being revised and the modified CIS portal will be launched shortly.

For the updation of the CIS portal, he directed the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) to discuss with representatives of the cement industry.

Furthermore, the CIS portal, presently undergoing modifications, will soon be relaunched to enhance functionality and user experience.

The National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) has been tasked with coordinating with industry representatives to ensure seamless integration and updates on the portal.

During the consultation, representatives from various cement companies, including Saurashtra Cement Ltd., Dalmia Cement (B) Ltd., Shree Cement Ltd., and others, expressed their commitment to providing production data regularly.

Assurances were made to onboard remaining plants onto the CIS portal by March 31, 2024, ensuring comprehensive coverage and accuracy in data reporting.

The meeting, held in hybrid mode on February 9, 2024, witnessed active participation from industry stakeholders, underscoring the collective efforts to enhance transparency and efficiency in data collection within the cement sector.

With robust data infrastructure in place, stakeholders anticipate informed decision-making and policy formulation to drive growth and development in the industry.