|
|
|
|
As an industry in the nascent stages, the regulatory and environmental norms in the RMC industry are either not very stringent or not followed in the right spirit. The boom in the recent past had given rise to plenty of local players who wanted to exploit the demand to the fullest without paying heed to any norms.
“Many of these players have not been serious about giving good quality product and service to the customers and hence could not gain customer confidence. Several players are content by offering minimum concrete strength. Being relatively nascent, the industry needs to engage in a lot of customers hand-holding and focus on developing newer and better products,” says Thomas.
“The government too needs to impose norms to protect the genuine players as well as the environment by imposing stricter monitoring and scrutiny,” says Ahluwalia. Incidentally, it is the unscrupulous players who have been affected the most by the recession. “One of the best effects of the recession has been that it is wiping out the fly-by-night operators. I am happy to see the recession in this context. Going ahead, the government should check such players and establish a minimum size for operating plants,” Ahluwalia states.
Of course, there is more expected from the government beyond reforms related to operational norms for local players or environmental issues. “The government should insist on the use of RMC for all projects, which will scale up the industry as a whole and also help source quality concrete for construction. Uniform taxation throughout India is another aspect; while introduction of VAT and further refinement of VAT may bring about this change. Entry tax, road permits, way bills are other issues that have to be abolished for RMC growth,” remarks Sakthikumar. “Taxation is one area where government can support by reducing VAT to 4% or so,” adds Thomas.
“The industry also needs government support in terms of banning SMC in city limits like it has been done in Mumbai,” says Ahluwalia.
Story continues below 
It is often argued that RMC trucks moving in the city would add to the traffic woes. Thomas counters this by saying: “If RMC trucks are allowed to ply in the city during the day, it will help ease traffic congestion. When SMC is used at a site more number of trucks will have to reach there carrying cement, aggregate, sand or water, separately.
"Sadly, the city administration does not realise this and in most places bars RMC trucks from entering during the day. Also mixing concrete within city limits will add to pollution with dust flying from dumping materials, mixing concrete and so on.”
One of the best ways of tackling industry issues is through direct involvement by the industry players. For example, Ahluwalia of Ahlcon RMC is trying to work with the Bureau of Indian Standards to push for more stringent regulatory norms.
“However, more government initiative is required on this front,” he says. Equally important is having a common industry platform. “With attempts like the formation of the Readymix Concrete Manufacturers’ Association, one hopes that self regulation and standardisation will happen leading to better customer confidence and consequent market development,” says Thomas of Neptune.
The industry is currently going through an ironical situation. There is demand but there’s no money in the market. “Liquidity is the major challenge in today’s market. Demand still exists but people do not have liquidity to fulfill these demands,” says Ahluwalia of Ahlcon RMC.
Nevertheless, players like Ahlcon remain positive about the future. While the big MNC players are shelving or deferring their expansion plans, Ahlcon is showing courage. “Besides Delhi, we have a presence in Bangalore and will soon have operations in Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Going ahead, we will be focusing on the upcoming metros. As of now, we have about 11 plants and are expanding our capacity in Delhi,” Ahluwalia informs. He feels this is the right time to consolidate and focus on core competence. Even Neptune, which already has three commercial plants and one dedicated plant, is not afraid.
“We are looking at expanding our capacity and will do so at the right time,” says Thomas. The long-term prospects of the RMC industry in India, as Ahluwalia asserts, are definitely very good. “It remains a sunrise industry in the long run,” he adds on a positive note.
| Articles | |
 |
Site Map
 |
 |
 |
 |
|  |
COMMENT
information was good