According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) cement demand is expected to grow at 13-14 per cent year-on-year in FY22 after two consecutive years of flat-to-negative growth. The cement demand to gross domestic product growth multiplier is likely to hit 1.3x in FY22, compared to the trailing 15-year average of 0.9x. According to Ind-Ra, this growth will be led by a strong rural demand on the back of three consecutive favourable monsoons, which limited the volume decline in 9MFY21 to around 5 per cent YoY as the growth returned in 2QFY21. And the demand in the eastern region is expected to continue to grow the fastest in FY22, supported by demand from individual home builders and government's rural housing schemes for east and central regions due to the housing shortage.