New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- Cement makers such as Nuvoco Vistas Corp., Birla Corporation and JK Lakshmi Cement are increasing their focus on premium products to lift margins as an alternative to price hikes in a push that analysts said would work for now but not in the long term as competition creeps into the premium segment.

After the goods and services tax, or GST, rate on cement was rationalized in September, cement companies have refrained from raising prices to pass on the benefit of lower taxes to consumers, analysts said. Instead, some are relying on premiumization to protect profitability amid heightened competition.

India's cement market has a concentrated structure with the top four companies accounting for a 60% share of the industr...