While bears are still ruling the roost in the south zone which saw domestic dispatches decline by 32 percent in 1QFY20, demand has definitely picked up in the north zone. This is despite the austerity drive which has compressed commercial development demand, as well as the government's recent efforts to document. One of the measures taken is to introduce a conidtion to display national identify cards for any purchase and sales of goods above Rs50,000. Evidently, a lot of cement traded in the market is done by unregistered dealers. But September's growth shows that cement companies that were throughout last year competing heavily on prices due to shrinking demand may now be getting a breather as planned government projects kick off.