This week, a report by Crisil Ratings highlighted that India’s cement sector is about to enter another phase of phenomenal growth and expansion. For the next three years, (FY26-28) it is forecast that capital expenditure of approximately INR1.2tn (US$13.5bn) will be spent by cement producers, nearly 50 per cent more than the 95Mt added in the previous three years.

This would see a huge 160-170Mta expansion in cement capacity, while 10-15 per cent of the spending would support green energy and cost efficiency projects, claimed Crisil. As of March 2025, India’s installed cement capacity stood at 668Mt, with 17 companies accounting for 85 per cent of this domestic production.

In the past three years, cement volumes grew at a compound annual rate of 9.5 per cent, says the report.  This was prompted by infrastructure and housing demand in the main, which has seen capacity utilisation reach 70 per cent.

Of the additional capacity over the next three years, approximately 65 per cent is designated as brownfield projects to existing facilities. Nearly two-thirds of the total additions will form split grinding units, situated close to key consumption markets, added the research house.

Rival groups commit to expansion plans
Leading the charge is UltraTech Cement (Aditya Birla group), which reported in October 2025 that it expects to reach 240.76Mta of cement production globally by FY28. The Global Cement Report (GCR) database currently records that UltraTech Cement has announced four greenfield plants and two expansion projects in India, adding 14.5Mta cement capacity in the near future. The biggest of these projects is the 7Mta integrated plant at Nawalgarh. Before this, UltraTech Cement is expected to commission the 2.7Mta Maihar Cement plant that is already under construction.

The Adani Group, which has a current cement capacity of approximately 107Mta, is similarly forcing the pace of capex expansion through its two Indian subsidiaries - ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cememts. The group aims to surpass 155Mta of cement capacity by FY28. Some of this capacity will arrive via plant efficiencies and debottlenecking, such as adding roller presses to existing ball mills. ACC Ltd has already announced the expansion in Chandrapur and it is building greenfield plants at Hoshiapu, Mirzapur and Kharagpur, adding some 10Mta to the company’s installed cement capacity. ACC Ltd is also adding a 3.75Mta clinker plant in Mundra. Its next commissioning is likely to be the 1.3Mta Bir Palasi plant under the Asian Concrete and Cements Pvt Ltd subsidiary.

Ambuja Cements (Adani group) has even more plants in the pipeline. It has seven new plants announced and five expansion projects on the GCR database. These include two 6Mta cement plants at Telengana and Kalyan. The company’s more immediate projects will see 6Mta greenfield capacity in Bihar and cement expansions coming on-stream at Farakka, Marwar Mundwa and greenfield clinker capacity at Osara.

The two rivals – Aditya Birla group and Adani group – have added 90Mta of cement capacity to India’s market since 2022, through acquisition and expansion projects. They now dwarf the third largest player – Shree Cement that has 56Mta of cement capacity.

Quicker growth ahead
The demand for cement is rising steeply in India. Fifty per cent of its population expected to be living in urban settlements by 2050, compared to 35 per cent in 2025. Affordable housing schemes and real estate growth, supported by policies like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is expected to increase cement consumption significantly. PhilCapital, another research house has estimated cement demand to increase in India by a CARG of 6-8 per cent between 2025-30.