Jasmeet Singh, AVP, Corporate Communications, JCB India
As we get into a gradual and cautious un-locking of the economy, re-booting of the supply chain is also of utmost importance to ensure seamless operations of the supplier and dealer network.
With the onset of the ‘unlock’ process, we are seeing a revival of construction activities in the country. Infrastructure projects are restarting, leading to green shoots and positive signs for the Construction Equipment Industry.
The growth of the Construction Equipment sector is directly dependent on infrastructure development in the country. All infrastructure projects had come to a standstill in April and May, due to which the industry was severely stressed. It went down by almost 40% in the first half of this calendar year, as compared to last year. As we get into a gradual and cautious un-locking of the economy, the re-booting of the supply chain is also of utmost importance, to ensure seamless operations of the supplier and dealer network. We are starting to see some positive movement in the sector, which is currently a combination of release of pent up demand and a slow and cautious revival of industry sentiment.
The Government too has been giving support to our industry with their consistent focus on infrastructure development. It has already announced a slew of measures to stabilize the impact on the economy. The recent stimulus announced are all steps in the right direction, like focus on building infrastructure, reforms in coal and the mining sector, and support to MSMEs, etc.
Another key measure for rapid recovery of the industry is last-mile lending from NBFCs since, for infrastructure projects to continue, liquidity is essential. The pandemic has made Banks and NBFCs even more risk-averse. Transmission of liquidity is critical for our industry – the RBI has done a lot in the past few months and the benefits need to be passed on to the end-users. The risk appetite must not become nil.
Additionally, with the Government’s ambition of making India ‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant), it is critical to invest in building world-class infrastructure in the country with greater adoption of technologies like Telematics, IoT, Big data and Machine Learning. We need to continue to invest, innovate, create, scale-up, and export. This would support rapid recovery and sustained growth in the future.
With the gradual restart of infrastructure projects and support from the government, we are hopeful of a recovery in 2021.
Revival is a combination of various factors, demand generation and opportunities in the sector being key. Both these factors are crucial in addressing the slowdown faced by the construction equipment industry.
Going forward, two key sectors are set to emerge and drive demand for construction equipment – first being the development of infrastructure in Rural India, and the other is the creation of a world-class Healthcare network across the country.
Additionally, the Government's commitment of Rs. 111 lakh crore towards the National Infrastructure Pipeline is expected to provide the much-needed impetus to the sector. Railways, Irrigation, and large national-level projects like Sagarmala are expected to create significant demand for construction equipment and machinery with a multiplier effect.
We are hopeful that a strong focus coupled with a sustained investment in infrastructure development would result in multiple long-term benefits in the coming years.
Sectoral exhibitions like bauma CONEXPO INDIA are a few of the most impactful, immediate, and universal solutions to give organizations and their products wide visibility, and drive market demand.
The world has been hit by a global pandemic and has adversely impacted economies and businesses across sectors. While there are different solutions and recovery measures for each industry, sectoral exhibitions are a few of the most impactful, immediate, and universal solutions to give organizations and their products wide visibility, and also drive market demand.
The bauma CONEXPO INDIA has always been a platform of repute, and we feel that it will be instrumental in bringing the entire industry together and work concertedly to scale up and sustain the market. Given the ongoing pandemic, the highest priority for each one of us right now is to ensure the health and safety of all our stakeholders. We believe that it is a prudent decision of shifting the expo to February 2021.
