Though short on implementation roadmap, the budget lays out a grand vision for the future, like Rs 100 lakh crore of infrastructure projects in next five years.

A second term for Narendra Modi-led Government means continuity of policy and opportunity to push tougher reforms, particularly - land and labour

Over the past decade, the cement industry has witnessed a decline in utilisation rates, despite which, cement prices have held up fairly well. FY19 is likely to end with near double-digit demand growth, which will also take up utilisation.

Though it was supposed to be an interim budget, it has given a direction for the whole year by announcing different schemes to boost disposable income, which will eventually help revive consumer demand, including for cement.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni demonstrated his corporate credential as he batted for India Cements at their board meeting. After captaining India on the cricket pitch, [this time] he padded up for India Cements.

Total coal production in India during April-August 2018 was 264 million tonne (MT) and recorded a growth of 10 per cent y-o-y. It was mainly aided by 12 per cent growth in production by Coal India (216 MT) during the first five months of FY19.

The performance of 3,292 companies in Q1 FY19 over the last year (Q1 FY18) reveals an improvement, with net sales registering a double-digit growth during the quarter over Q1 FY18 performance.

The onset of the south-west monsoon, which began on June 1, 2018 has reached the eastern regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan, states a report from CARE Ratings.

Coal production in India touched 688.4 MT in FY18, clocking a 2.5 per cent increase over last year's production.