As India invests billions in infrastructure, effective facility management ensures assets serve citizens, businesses, and institutions efficiently, while optimising costs and extending their life, says Ankur Sachdev.
India is in the midst of one of the most ambitious infrastructure build-outs in modern history. From expressways, high-speed rail corridors, airports, and ports to data centres, global capability centres (GCCs), manufacturing parks, logistics hubs, hospitals, and smart cities, the country is investing heavily to strengthen connectivity, productivity, and quality of life. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, India’s infrastructure push is not only about capacity creation but also about positioning itself as a global economic and manufacturing powerhouse.
While construction milestones and commissioning attract attention, true infrastructure success is proven after completion. Infrastructure assets are long-term investments that must perform efficiently, safely, and sustainably over decades. This is where facility management emerges as a critical yet often underappreciated pillar of the country’s growth journey. Effective facility management keeps assets functional, compliant, cost-efficient, and resilient, delivering value beyond their lifecycle.
Facility Management encompasses the integrated management of people, processes, and infrastructure to ensure the functionality, comfort, safety, and efficiency of built environments. In India’s context, facility management plays a far more strategic role than routine maintenance. It directly impacts asset longevity, operational continuity, employee productivity, safety standards, and sustainability outcomes.
Facility management is a comprehensive function that includes maintenance, operations, security, energy management, and other essential services that ensure buildings operate efficiently and safely. The growing adoption of technologies such as IoT, AI, and automation is transforming the sector by enabling predictive maintenance, better resource utilisation, and improved cost efficiency. Demand is further driven by the expansion of commercial real estate, the rise of hybrid workspaces, and government initiatives like the Smart Cities Mission, which emphasise sustainable and inclusive urban development. Additionally, the increasing focus on green buildings and stricter regulatory compliance is accelerating the shift towards professional facility management services.
With infrastructure assets becoming increasingly complex—integrating advanced heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, smart building technologies, digital security, energy management, and compliance requirements—professional facility management services are no
longer optional. Poorly maintained assets deteriorate faster, incur higher lifecycle costs, pose safety risks, and ultimately undermine economic returns.
In a country like India, where public and private investments in infrastructure run into billions of dollars, effective facility management acts as a value protector. It ensures that infrastructure continues to serve citizens, businesses, and institutions efficiently while optimising operational expenditure and extending asset life. Moreover, in sectors such as healthcare, airports, data centres, and manufacturing, robust facility management is directly linked to safety, uptime, regulatory compliance, and business continuity.
Growth Market
The global facility management market has witnessed strong growth over the past decade, driven by urbanisation, outsourcing trends, and the increasing complexity of built environments. Globally, the facility management market is estimated to be valued at over $1.3 trillion, with steady growth expected as organisations focus on efficiency, sustainability, and risk management.
India represents one of the fastest-growing facility management markets worldwide.
The Indian facility management market is currently estimated at $30-35 billion, with organised players accounting for a growing share of the sector.
This transition is being accelerated by multinational occupiers, global investors, regulatory scrutiny, and rising expectations around safety, hygiene, environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) compliance, and service quality. As the country’s infrastructure footprint expands, the facility management market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12-15 per cent over the next several years, significantly outpacing many other services segments.
Sectoral Demand
Airports, metro rail systems, highways, tunnels, ports, and railway stations are among the largest consumers of facility management services. These assets operate round-the-clock and require stringent safety, cleanliness, asset upkeep, and crowd management protocols. Professional facility management ensures uninterrupted operations, passenger safety, and compliance with international standards.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities demand the highest levels of hygiene, infection control, uptime, and regulatory adherence. From biomedical waste management and air quality control to equipment maintenance and security, facility management plays a mission-critical role in patient safety and healthcare outcomes.
As India positions itself as a global manufacturing hub, factories, industrial parks, and special economic zones (SEZs) are expanding rapidly. Facility management in the manufacturing sector focuses on safety, statutory compliance, asset reliability, energy efficiency, and operational continuity, which directly impacts productivity and profitability.
India’s emergence as a global digital and services hub has fuelled demand for high-performance facilities. Data centres, in particular, require zero-downtime operations, advanced cooling systems, power management, and security protocols, making facility management a highly specialised and technology-driven function.
Grade A offices, malls, hotels, and mixed-use developments rely on facility management to deliver superior occupant experiences, manage footfall, ensure safety, and optimise operating costs. As occupier expectations rise, facility management quality increasingly influences tenant retention and asset valuation.
Policy Priorities
To unlock the full potential of India’s facility management sector and enable Indian service providers to compete effectively on the global stage, a robust and supportive policy framework is essential. Despite being a critical enabler of infrastructure performance, facility management continues to be viewed largely as an auxiliary service rather than a strategic function. Formal recognition of facility management as a distinct and strategic services sector would be a significant first step in addressing this gap.
Such recognition would help drive much-needed standardisation across the industry. Clear definitions of service scope, performance metrics, and outcome-based delivery models can bring greater consistency and transparency to facility management contracts. The introduction of nationally recognised quality benchmarks, certification frameworks, and compliance standards would reduce the sector’s fragmentation, improve service reliability, and enhance trust among clients, investors, and global partners. Standardisation would also encourage greater investment in technology, systems, and skilled manpower by organised service providers.
Equally important is a strong focus on skill development and workforce upskilling. Facility management is a highly people-intensive sector, employing millions of blue-collar workers across maintenance, housekeeping, security, technical services, and operations. However, a large portion of this workforce remains informally trained, limiting productivity, safety, and career progression. Structured skill development programmes aligned with industry needs—covering technical skills, safety protocols, regulatory compliance, and the use of digital tools—can significantly improve service quality and operational efficiency.
In addition, formal safety certifications and continuous training initiatives can reduce workplace risks and enhance employee well-being, particularly in high-risk environments such as hospitals, industrial facilities, and large infrastructure assets. Technology enablement through digital tools, mobile platforms, and smart systems can further empower the workforce, enabling real-time reporting, predictive maintenance, and better decision-making. Together, these measures can improve employability, create sustainable career pathways, and position India’s facility management workforce as a globally competitive talent pool.
India’s infrastructure ambitions will only achieve their intended impact if the assets created are managed with the same vision, professionalism, and long-term perspective as their construction. Facility management is no longer a back-end function; it is a strategic enabler of safety, sustainability, efficiency, and economic value. As India continues to build for the future, investing in world-class facility management capabilities will be essential to protect infrastructure investments, enhance citizen experiences, and strengthen India’s position as a global economic leader. The next phase of India’s infrastructure story will not just be about what we build, but also how well we manage what is built.
About the author:
Ankur Sachdev, CEO, Tenon FM
Why Facility Management Matters
• Protects billion-dollar infrastructure investments over decades
• Ensures safety, compliance, and uninterrupted operations
• Extends asset life and reduces lifecycle costs
• Drives productivity in workplaces and public spaces
• Anchors sustainability outcomes across sectors
Rising Market Momentum
• Global market exceeds $1.3 trillion and growing
• India’s market at $30-35 billion, expanding rapidly
• CAGR of 12-15% outpaces other service segments
• Demand surges from airports, hospitals, factories, and data centres
• Quality of facility management now influences asset valuation
Boosting the Sector’s Future
• Formal recognition as a strategic services industry
• Standardised contracts, benchmarks, and compliance frameworks
• Structured skill development for millions of workers
• Technology enablement through IoT, AI, and automation
• Stronger ESG focus to meet global occupier expectations