When India’s state-run oil explorer opened bids for a cement supply contract in 2018, officials noticed something unusual: every bidder quoted the same price of 7,000 rupees per metric ton, reports Reuters.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) questioned the identical bids and received an unusual explanation from an executive at India Cements, who said the figure reflected his “lucky number” seven.
Suspicious about the pricing pattern, ONGC quietly filed an antitrust complaint against three domestic cement companies, triggering a long-running investigation.
A confidential report by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), reviewed by Reuters, concluded after a five-year probe that the companies had colluded for years to rig bids in cement tenders issued by ONGC.
According to the regulator, a cartel involving Dalmia Cement (Bharat), a unit of India’s fourth-largest cement maker Dalmia Bharat, and rival Shree Digvijay operated between 2007 and 2018. India Cements joined the arrangement during 2017–18.
The 90-page report said the companies coordinated prices, discussed supply patterns and attempted to push foreign bidders out of the procurement process.
“The bid rigging, discussion of supply patterns and attempts to oust foreign bidders were substantiated from strong evidences in form of communication, meetings, emails, admission,” the report said.
Local television channel Zee Business earlier reported the investigation’s broad finding of wrongdoing, but the internal evidence and tactics outlined in the report have not previously been detailed.
The companies have been asked to respond to the investigation findings. The CCI will issue a final order in the coming months. The regulator has the authority to drop parts of the findings or impose penalties of up to three times the companies’ profits or 10 per cent of turnover for each year of violation.
Dalmia Bharat declined to comment, saying the matter remains pending before the CCI but adding it is cooperating with authorities. India Cements, acquired by industry leader UltraTech in 2024, did not respond to requests for comment. Shree Digvijay, ONGC and the CCI also did not respond.
In the financial year 2024–25, Dalmia Bharat reported revenue of $1.5 billion, India Cements $444 million and Shree Digvijay $79 million.
Following the Reuters report, shares of Shree Digvijay dropped as much as 5.4 per cent, while India Cements fell 4.4 per cent and Dalmia Bharat declined 3.5 per cent.
Competition lawyers say the case shows India’s antitrust regulator broadening its scrutiny beyond high-profile probes involving global technology firms.
“Tech cases have been a growing focus for CCI but there is increased cognizance within the government to tackle breaches at state-run firms and in public procurement,” said Gautam Shahi, a competition law partner at Indian law firm Dua Associates.
The cement case follows another recent probe reported by Reuters in January, which found four major Indian steelmakers, including Tata Steel and JSW Steel, had coordinated prices.
The CCI investigation began after ONGC observed repeated pricing similarities in four tenders for oil well cement before lodging its formal complaint in 2020.
In one 2018 tender covering 170,000 tons of cement, all three companies quoted the identical price of 7,000 rupees per ton, equivalent to 7,350 rupees including taxes, across multiple delivery locations.
ONGC later warned India Cements that the identical bids suggested a possible breach of competition law.
In its written response, the company defended the bid and referred to both market conditions and what it called a numerological consideration.
“The financial bid was also supported by the numerology factor of 7,” the company wrote.
The CCI placed responsibility for the alleged collusion on eight senior executives, including former Shree Digvijay managing director Rajeev Nambiar, Dalmia Bharat chairman Y.H. Dalmia and former India Cements managing director N. Srinivasan.
None of the executives responded to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The investigation cited testimony from Shree Digvijay senior vice president Prem R. Singh, who said the companies quoted identical prices so that volumes and revenues could be shared more evenly among them.
According to the report, Singh visited a rival Dalmia office in 2018 to assist with tender filings and exchanged messages with his then managing director during the process.
Investigators said the companies also coordinated logistical calculations. Executives from Shree Digvijay and Dalmia jointly analysed the rail freight distances from their factories to ONGC delivery points and adjusted bids accordingly to avoid direct competition.
