Demonetisation hits cement production

Cement production saw a year-on-year decline for the first time since 2001 as demonetisation hit the building sector. India's cement industry has a capacity of about 420 MT. Production typically grows 5-6 per cent a year, and caters to the housing, infrastructure and commercial sectors. The fiscal may likely end with a marginal YoY decline for this sector. Cement production fell 9 per cent in December - taking production growth for the first nine months of FY2017 to a mere 2.6 per cent.