Cement industry hails infra push, CCUS outlay in Budget 2026-27

Moreover, emphasis on Tier-II III cities with populations above 5 lakh and the creation of City Economic Regions CERs with an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore per CER over five years, should accelerate construction activity across housing, transport and urban services, supporting broad-based cement consumption.

Cement manufacturers on Sunday said the Union Budget's strong infrastructure push, with public capital expenditure rising to Rs 12.2 lakh crore, recognises infrastructure as the primary anchor for economic growth and creates positive prospects for the cement sector. Moreover, emphasis on Tier-II and III cities and the creation of City Economic Regions will accelerate construction activity across housing, transport, and urban services, supporting broad-based cement consumption. Industry body CMA said the Budget's strong infrastructure push, is improving long-term visibility for the cement sector. Moreover, emphasis on Tier-II & III cities with populations above 5 lakh and the creation of City Economic Regions (CERs) with an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore per CER over five years, should accelerate construction activity across housing, transport and urban services, supporting broad-based cement consumption. Logistics and connectivity measures announced in the Budget are particularly significant for the cement industry. ''Announcement of new dedicated freight corridors, the operationalisation of 20 additional National Waterways over the next five years, the launch of the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme to raise the modal share of waterways and coastal shipping from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2047, and the development of ship repair ecosystems should enhance multimodal freight efficiency, reduce logistics costs and improve the Sector's carbon footprint,'' said Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) in a statement. Besides, announcement of seven high-speed rail corridors as growth corridors can be expected to further stimulate regional development and construction demand. ''The Union Budget 2026-27 reflects the government's focus on infrastructure-led development emerging as a structural pillar of India's growth strategy,'' said CMA President Parth Jindal. The Rs 20,000-crore CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage) outlay for various sectors, including cement, fundamentally alters the decarbonisation landscape for India's emissions intensive industries. ''CCUS is a significant enabler for large scale decarbonisation of industries such as cement and this intervention directly addresses the technology and cost requirements of the cement sector in context,'' said Jindal, who is Managing Director of JSW Cement. Shree Cement Managing Director Neeraj Akhoury said Union Budget's focus on infrastructure and balanced regional growth is encouraging. ''The proposed Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund will boost lender confidence and help attract private investment. Increased allocations for high-speed rail, Tier-II and Tier-III cities, and temple towns will drive sustained demand across the construction sector. The support for CCUS is timely and reinforces the importance of clean technologies in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries,'' he said. JK Lakshmi Cement President and Director Arun Shukla said emphasis on carbon capture and utilisation reflects an important step towards enabling cleaner industrial growth. ''The focus on developing infrastructure in cities with populations above five lakh will strengthen Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as emerging growth centres. This will help companies in the infrastructure sector and generate demand,'' he said.

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