What is your view of the growth prospects of India’s Construction Industry in 2023, and how will Gati Shakti provide the much-needed boost to the infrastructure sector?
The forecast for India's infrastructure sector in the next ten years is promising, given the government initiatives for its fast development, and the pipeline of major projects that are backed by sizable capital and financing. Today, India is a significant market for construction equipment manufacturers. There is an emphasis on constructing more sustainable structures, employing green materials, and advanced technologies, and a growing need for sophisticated equipment for constructing mega, complex infra projects.
The Government has made infrastructure development a top priority as it is expected to play a key role in achieving its goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Gati Shakti can provide the much-needed boost to the infrastructure sector by developing a skilled workforce.
What are the challenges confronting the infrastructure civil construction sector?
India is the fastest growing country in Infrastructure development, but the Government needs to work on skill development programs and generate more employment opportunities. The construction industry has to also contend with challenges of project approvals by the Government, the informal (and therefore weak) organization of contractors, lack of construction materials and equipment, poor project management, etc. Plus, we are lagging behind in adopting new technologies, which need to be incorporated for quality construction of projects and their timely completion.
To what would you attribute J. Kumar Infraprojects’ successful execution and completion of mega projects?
Successful implementation of any project is the result of good project management and teamwork. The company has in-house machineries that help deliver projects on time. In terms of worker safety, we conduct third-party audits to supervise our ongoing projects and strictly follow all the international safety norms.
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine control, and IoT are making inroads in the infrastructure construction and equipment sector, where they are mainly used in project management to help construction companies streamline their day-to-day jobs and curtail project delays. At J.Kumar, we are using AI and IoT for project execution as we know that time is money.
We intend to increase productivity and optimize use of our equipment. On a stand-alone basis, we are increasing our capacity for bidding. To increase overall operational efficiency and shorten project completion times, we are automating the processes and investing in better infrastructure for the company, including expensive, cutting- edge technologies.
What new opportunities do you see emerging in FY 23-24?
Projects for the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) that prioritize urban areas such as the Indian Metro Rail, new motorway development, etc.
What is the R&D competency of J. Kumar Infraprojects and how is it supporting SROT - the start-up for Research in Operational Technologies?
We remain true to our mantra for superlative infrastructure by dreaming big and working harder. Over the years we have dedicated ourselves to creating an infrastructure eco-system where quality and excellence is not an exception, but a norm. We also believe that it is our social responsibility to promote Make in India products.
Today, J. Kumar Infraprojects is one of the fastest growing companies in the Construction Industry. The company has 25 labs in and around the Pune region which are working with Joint Services Innovation & Indigenization Centre (JSIIC) and providing technical support to SROT, which has been formed to provide a platform to start-ups.
Since J Kumar Infraprojects is working in various fields, we have tied up with many industries, scientists and academies that are working with start-ups to provide them solutions. J. Kumar in association with SROT is also providing skill development programs for students by giving them hands-on experience in field workshops. In March 2023, SROT conducted a skill development workshop on Concrete Technology in collaboration with J Kumar Infraprojects and the academia.
