About the Book

As India accepts the WTO norms of free trade, the cement industry's survival, similar to the whole industrial sector, in the changing scenario grossly depend on the competitiveness of the Indian product vis-à-vis major cement producing countries in the world like Korea, Indonesia, Japan and others. Domestically, the growth of cement plants at various stages in the Indian cement industry is always affected by the government policies. The policies of control on cement for a long time followed by consecutive partial and total decontrol have contributed to the gradual opening up of the market for cement producers.
Therefore the study of cement industry is significant, which is one of the major infrastructure industries. The present book assesses analytically the policies adopted towards cement industry and their impact of on its structure and performance. For addressing these issues, the book takes a different approach. It addresses the issue of wholesale privatisation by placing it in the surrounding environment. The study is pursued at two different levels (a) public sector as a whole and (b) individual public sector firm as compared to the private sector firm within the cement industry. For appraising performance, a comparison between Cement Corporation of India (CCI) and Associated Cement Companies Ltd. (ACC) in the public and private sectors of the industry is envisaged.
Starting with a brief review of the historical as well as theoretical aspects describing state intervention and development; a concise picture of the interaction between government policy and the public sector is set down. It reviews very succinctly, the historical background as well as the price and distribution policy of cement industry in India since its inception. The discussion on the structure of the industry over the years includes a regional overview and a brief outline on the public and private sector in cement industry. The performance of the industry has been analysed in terms of financial analysis, cost behaviour and technical and allocative efficiency with respect to the firms under study. It may be mentioned here that firm-level research in India is at its initial stages, in view of that, the study endeavours to fill in this gap.

About Author

Dr. Madhu Bala is presently working as Reader in Economics at Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India. She has attained her doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. She is throughout a first-class-first student and a gold medallist in M.A. Economics. She has authored many publications in various national and international books and journals.

Contents

State and Economic Development: Introduction, State Intervention and the Present-day Advanced Countries, State Intervention in a Developing Economy, Public Enterprises-An Instrument of State Intervention, Objectives and Scope; Economic Policy and Public Sector in India: Introduction, First Phase (1950-65), Second Phase (1966-84), Third Phase (1984-91), Post 1991,Policy Regime, Implications of Policy Changes for Public Sector; History of Cement Industry: Introduction, A Historical Profile,Policy Strands conclusion;Growth and Structure of Cement Industry:Introduction,A Regional Overview,Public and Private Sector in Cement Industry,Salient Features of the Sample Companies;Financial Analysis:Introduction,Liquidity Analysis,Capital Structure Analysis,Management of Capital,Conclusion;Cost Behaviour:Introduction,Unit Sales Realisation,Averages of Cost Components,Capacity Utilisation Conclusion;Technical and Allocative Efficiency:Introduction,Technical and Allocative Efficiency,Empirical Studies in Indian Manufacturing,The Model,Data and Definition of Variables,Empirical Results,Conclusion;Summary and Conclusions:Policy Implications;Bibliography

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