India: Telangana Government seeks cement price cuts

On Monday, the Telangana Government in southern India asked local cement companies to reduce prices. Chief Secretary to the Government, Rajiv Sarma, had asked the firms to rationalise the price in line with the demand.

It may be noted that cement prices rose sharply after the formation of the new government in the centre and the two states and is hovering around INR280/bag (US$4.7) at present, marking an increase of INR60-80 in the last three weeks.

According to sources, the industry captains assured the government that the prices would be reviewed. This protests from builders and other stakeholders that the price-hike was not supported by any spurt in the demand but was only due to ‘cartelisation’.