The world has no alternative to asbestos corrugated roof sheeting as an affordable hard roof. Around 50-80% of our rural population lives under thatched roof. The rural income levels are low and they can only graduate from thatched roof to asbestos cement roof sheeting. On the other side, Cement pipes find application in drinking water supply and drainage & sanitation works.

• Basic excise duty enhanced from 10% to 12%.
• Proposal to provide Rs 15,888 crore for capitalization of Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks RRB and other financial institutions including NABARD.
• Extent the scheme of capitalization of weak RRBs by another 2 years to enable all the states to contribute their share.
• Enhance provisions under Rural Housing Fund from Rs 3000 crore to Rs 4000 crore.
• A short term RRB Credit Refinance Fund is being set-up to enhance the capacity of Regional Rural Banks to disburse short-term crop loans to the small and marginal farmers. Government has proposed Rs 10000 crore to NABARD for refinancing the RRBs through this fund.
• Farmers need timely access to affordable credit. Proposal to raise the target for agricultural credit in 2012-13 to Rs 5,75,000 crore. This represents an increase of Rs 1,00,000 crore over the target for the current year.
• The interest subvention scheme for providing short term crop loans to farmers at 7% per annum will be continued in 2012-13.An additional subvention of 3% will be available to prompt paying farmers.
• Government has proposed to increase the budgetary allocation by 27% for rural drinking water and sanitation from Rs 11,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 14,000 crore in 2012-13.
• Proposed to enhance the allocation under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to Rs 20,000 crore, in which Rs 5000 crore exclusively for creating warehousing facilities.
• To improve quality of assets and to bring about greater synergy between, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and agriculture and allied rural livelihood is being addressed.
• The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana has been restructured into National Rural Livelihood Mission to provide self-employment opportunities.

The sector succeeded in improving the selling price of Asbestos Corrugated Sheets to Rs 150 per meter, higher by 11% from Rs 135 per meter in April 2011. However, the industry was yet to effect hike after Union Budget 2012-13, despite hike in excise and service tax from 10% to 12%. The hike, if any, will depend on the growth in demand, and absorption of the hikes effected already. With most input costs, including cement, going up, the sector will start feeling the pressure on margins from early next fiscal, if the ACS prices are not hiked. But for the current quarter ending March 2012, they are expected to report decent growth in revenues and profits.