Exicom wins manufacturing excellence (EV infrastructure) award at the recently held Assocham Auto Forum and Awards.

By fiscal year 2023, India will be looking at a whopping investment requirement of Rs 38.6 trillion in the infrastructure sector. Over a period of time, the government spending has completely overshadowed private sector investment which was 37 per cent in 2008, and a gradual downward curve between 2013 and 2017 was witnessed.

It is a well-known and widely accepted datum that infrastructure is the backbone of a sound and growing economy. Amongst all infrastructure, the transport sector facilitates trade and migration, thereby raising productivity in other parts of the economy and directly contributing to the economic growth.

With an estimated average spend of upwards of Rs 1 trillion per annum (excluding land cost), the order book additions will remain healthy for both, large and mid-sized road contractors over the next four to five years.

Is the Indian Railways chugging towards a gargantuan bailout? Startling as it may sound, the question is within the realms of plausibility given the lumbering behemoth's financials.

The road construction companies are eying 20 per cent growth through this fiscal. With this, a plethora of opportunities have opened up for road equipment industry.

Total order backlog of the engineering and construction firms was Rs.8.1 trillion at the end of FY18. Of the whole order backlog, almost 62 per cent was contributed by the construction companies, followed by 24 per cent of capital goods companies catering to the energy industry.

Following its parent IL&FS approving a Rs 80 billion recapitalisation plan for the company, road developer IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL) is planning to bid for projects worth Rs 40 billion.

In this extensive interview to INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY, he says that it is entirely up to the Railways on how it would like to leverage its unique position as the country’s most inclusive transporter.