The 6th anniversary edition of Construction Times takes a peek into the bold initiatives and efforts of REBUILD INDIA on its macro and micro perspectives, cutting across the industries and verticals.

The global economy has probably never gone through so much of a stress prior to the present pandemic. Covid-19 took the entire world by surprise and disrupted most of the economic activities across the world. Even the strongest economies took the toll and shrunk by significant percentage in the last two quarters. India, like all the major economies, also faced the brunt of the pandemic.

But thanks to the bold initiatives and efforts from the government and concerned authorities, and the relentless spirit of the people the processes of REBUILDING INDIA on its macro and micro perspectives, cutting across the industries and verticals are on, and today, the vibes are positive from across the sectors. It portrays the transformative spirit that is realigning and re-shaping to the changing realities. “Like the rest of the world, India is showing green shoots of recovery. We can witness the recovery of the economy through improved manufacturing indices (PMI index measured 58.9 in October 2020 recovering from lows of 27.4 in April when the GDP contracted by 23.9%), consumer expenditure, sales of consumables, etc. (e-way bills up almost by 19 per cent, railway freight up by almost 14 per cent in October and GST collection tops Rs 1 lakh crore, 1st time since February,)” says Chandranath Dey, Head- Industrial Operation, BD, Industrial Consulting & PAGI, India, JLL.

“It is well known that infrastructure projects have a multiplier effect on employment and income. Prioritizing spending on these projects along with resolution of some issues related to land acquisition, PPP projects and labour laws will help kickstart the economy. The government's Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, especially in defense sector are key steps taken in the right direction to make India self-reliant. Going forward, increased budget allocation for defense modernization will be of immense strategic importance to this sector,” states SN Subrahmanyan, CEO & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro

Says Dhiraj Nayyar, Director, Economics & Policy, Vedanta Ltd, “I believe there is no alternative to completing the economic reform process and making India a cost competitive economy. Right now, we are a high cost economy. Land acquisition is difficult and expensive. India's interest rates are among the highest in the world. The cost of power for industry is high because farmers and consumers are subsidized. Similarly, rail freight in expensive because passengers are cross subsidized. All of this renders us less competitive than rival countries.” He adds on a positive note, “In the end only private investment and exports can drive double digit growth rate which is what India needs to be a strong and vibrant economy.

Speaking about the road sector, Puneet Narang, Partner, Infrastructure Government and Healthcare, KPMG in India had this to say. “Of the 111 laccrore National Infrastructure Plan announced by the Ministry of Finance in the pre-Covid time (December 2019), Roads and Highways as a sector has the second largest allocation of 18% only behind the energy sector. The last six to eight months from March to October 2020 saw competing priorities at play during the disruption caused by the pandemic. The role and significance of roads and especially that of national highways in moving goods and people efficiently, is increasingly evident as an important enabler to the economic revival. The rate of award of new projects and that of actual construction has improved over the years, but a lot more still needs to be done.”

“The government has relaxed the financial and technical parameters for bidders in road and tunnel construction projects .This is aimed at increasing the participation of local companies, as a part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat initiative, in bidding for projects. This is also important from the point of view of the large number of infrastructure projects being planned in the country and a few large infra firms taking the bulk of the work currently. This will enable development of a wide pool of very accomplished contractors,” Sandeep Singh, President, ICEMA; and Managing Director, Tata Hitachi. He further adds, “As a part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat initiative, the CE industry has been focussing on increasing localization levels. The CE industry is willing to further increase its localization level and seeks government support in attracting investment from global precision component manufacturers to set up manufacturing of mother technologies in the country.

With regard to the power sector, Debasis Mohapatra, Director, Government Utilities and Infrastructure Development, PwC India says, “Public-Private Partnership (PPP) avenues are crucial for the power sector in India, given the investment and expertise requirements for shifting the generation mix, increasing focus on sustainability and technological advancements. Significant coordination between policymakers, investors and consumers will be necessary to plan, design and implement successful PPP interventions. The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyanand COP 21 have opened up a lot of opportunities for the private sector. They can plan a key role in decentralization, decarburization and digitization of the power sector.”

Highlighting the trends in the aviation sector, Kinjal Shah, Vice President, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA Limited, says, “With relaxation of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, investments from foreign airlines appear to be the most viable option for domestic airlines to raise funds. So far, only one domestic airline has been the beneficiary of the policy change. We believe if the government addresses some of the regulatory hurdles on foreign ownership, the industry would benefit, as foreign airlines continue to scout for a share of the Indian aviation pie.”

According to Sunil Kanoria, Vice Chairman, Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited a sustainable revival in consumption demand will be possible only when an infra stimulus is announced where government has to do the bulk of spending. "There is talk in government circles of focusing first on short gestation infra projects. It is government spending on these projects that may open up entrepreneurship opportunities, and will induce the private sector to invest as well. All the schemes announced so far to make money available to the people will then start delivering the intended benefits. More people will get jobs and will have money in their hands to spend.”

Zulquer Nain, Vice President - Real Estate Advisory, REPL says, “Despite tough economic phase, the government has not revised its target of smart cities and affordable housing programs. This shows the government's commitment and determination towards development of real estate sector. Such confidence from the government is passing on to the investors and home buyers. This is one of the factors which is driving real estate investments. The focus of the government towards developing the smart cities is encouraging the developers to infuse the funds in the land banks.”

“Besides eCommerce, other sectors driving demand for warehousing include FMCG, engineering and manufacturing, and third-party logistics. Going forward, with the government providing viability gap funding for PPP-based warehousing at block and district level, the warehousing sector has now come to the centre-stage for global investors and developers. With Covid-19 already a major catalyst for technology-enabled real estate innovations, multi-storey warehousing is a logical next step,” says Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman - Anarock Property Consultants.

The new normal has necessitated a shift in business focus and imperatives. And moving forward the Indian Industry will witness changing working processes, a heightened need for visualization tools and much greater agility and responsiveness across the value chain to minimize value leaks and optimize production to maximize profit opportunities. In the following pages Construction Times brings a compressive coverage with input from top research and consultancy agencies, and from the who is who from various business verticals.

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