This article tries to assess total factor productivity performance and efficiency growth pattern for cement
industry in India for the period, 1979-80 to 2008-09. Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has
been adopted to estimate different performance measures viz. productivity growth, technological change,
and technical efficiency change for the entire period. We have observed that there is an accelerating trend in
productivity during post-reform period. Industry also experienced increase in technological progress along
with stagnation in technical efficiency. It was found in this study that the increasing technical change along
with non- responding technical efficiency change were the main ingredients responsible for accelerating
productivity change in India’s cement industry. Moreover, the results allow us to conclude that gross mark
up and growth in output, foreign direct investment (FDI) variables have significant positive impact on total
factor productivity growth but openness impacted negatively which is beyond our expectation. In this sector,
there is an urgent need to improve both technical efficiency and technological progress.