Cement, Energy and Environment

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. According to Arvind Pathak, CEO, the entry will grant the company a chance to capital ise on the rising demand for cement in the State which has a number of upcoming steel and power plants and other mineral-based industries. The company is also planning to launch its customer initiative - On-site Expert - to provide an array of services that include expert advice to on– site concrete testing facil ities, it said in a release. Reliance Cement, currently, has a capacity of 5.5 mt a year. Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, Kolkata, 12.04.2014 Pg. No.4 HOLCIM'S DEAL WITH LAFARGE TO BOOST CEMENTSECTOR: REPORT The global merger of cement giants Holcim and Lafarge is likely to accelerate consolidation in India's cement industry, says a report from rating agency India Ratings & Research. The consolidated operations may form India's largest cement group player (by capacity), pushing UltraTech Cement Limited (53.9mtpa, latest annual report) to the second position , the report points out. According to the report, there are chances that the newly combined entity may have to divest some assets from its Indian operations to comply with regulations. If the regulator requires a divestment of certain assets from the combined entity, it is most likely to be assets from the eastern region, where the entity will have the largest market share. However, even after the asset sale, the combined entity would remain the largest Indian cement player. Courtesy: Business Standard, 12.04.2014 Pg. No. 5 INDIA BECOMES NET STEEL EXPORTER AFTER 6 YRS India became net steel exporter in 2013-14 after a gap of six years and is likely to maintain the momentum in 2014-15 as producers are looking to dock more overseas shipment to tide over subdued domestic consumption. Total steel exports by India during the last fi scal stood at 5.59 million tonnes (MT), as against imports of 5.44 MT, Joint Plant Committee (JPC), a unit of the steel ministry, said in a report. India, now the world's fourth largest steel maker, had been a net steel importer since 2007- 08 and the trend continued till 2012-13 with 7.9 MT of imports and 5.2 MT of exports. Before 2007-08, India's exports were more than its imports. About 4.1% higher exports and 31 .3 % decline in imports helped India become net exporter of steel. While higher exports were driven by volatil ity of rupee and mismatched demand-supply situation in the country; imports were lower mainly due to slowdown in the domestic economy, Joint Plant Committee said. India's steel consumption grew by just 0.6% in 2013-14, its lowest in four years, to 73.93 MT, impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic economy and lower imports. Courtesy: The Financial Express, New Delhi, 14.04.2014 Pg. No. 10 GIANT MIRRORS REFLECT WINTER SUN INTO NORWEGIAN TOWN OF RJUKAN Residents of the small Norwegian town of Rjukan have finally seen the light. Tucked in– between steep mountains, the town is normally shrouded in shadow for almost six months a year, with residents having to catch a cable car to the top of a nearby precipice to get a fix of midday vitamin D. But on Wednesday faint rays from the winter sun for the first time reached the town's market square, thanks to three giant mirrors placed on a mountain. Cheering families, some on sun loungers, drinking cocktai ls and waving Norwegian flags, donned shades as the sun crept from behind a cloud to hit the mirrors and reflect down onto the faces of del ighted children below. TV footage of the event showed the centre of the crowded square light up a touch , but not as if hit by direct sunlight. Still , residents said the effect was noticeable. "Before when it was a fine day, you would see that the sky was blue and you knew that the sun was shining. But you couldn't quite see it. It was very frustrating," said Karin Roe, from the local tourist office. "This feels warm. When there is no time to get to the top of the mountains on weekdays , it wi ll be lovely to come out for an hour and feel this warmth on my face." Like much of Scandinavia, Rjukan often is freezing throughout the winter, but on Wednesday it was 7 C. Courtesy: Akshay Urja, December 2013, Vol. 7. Issue 2, 3 Pg. No. 8 52 c (