ICEMA’s Manufacturing & Supply Chain Summit Focuses on a Smart, Sustainable, and Self-Reliant CE Ecosystem

The 4th CE Manufacturing & Supply Chain Summit, organized by ICEMA, was held under the theme “Smart, Sustainable, Self-Reliant: The New Era of the Indian CE Industry.” The conference focused on creating an enabling policy ecosystem for a resilient and globally competitive construction equipment (CE) industry, while also emphasizing the need to scale up India’s CE manufacturing ecosystem.

The presentation on the Construction Equipment Outlook highlighted that the Indian CE market is projected to grow at around 15% CAGR, reaching approximately USD 40 billion by FY35. This growth is largely driven by the government’s strong infrastructure push and rising demand across sectors. In comparison, the global CE market is witnessing steady growth at about 7% CAGR, while India’s market is expanding at a faster pace of around 11–15%, indicating significantly higher growth potential and positioning the country as a key player in the global CE landscape.

Shri Mahmood Ahmed, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, underscored the importance of industry–government collaboration in supporting India’s infrastructure ambitions. He emphasized that “infrastructure growth at this scale requires a strong partnership between government and industry, with a focus on safety, sustainability, and efficiency.”

Addressing the session, Shri Vijay Mittal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, highlighted the government’s strong push towards manufacturing-led growth and emphasized the importance of domestic value addition and localization. He noted that “driving domestic value addition is key to building a self-reliant and globally competitive manufacturing ecosystem.”

From the MSME perspective, Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, highlighted the critical role of MSMEs in driving economic growth, employment, and exports. She stated that “empowering MSMEs through access to finance, technology, and market linkages will be key to strengthening India’s manufacturing ecosystem.”

Deepak Shetty, President, ICEMA, and CEO & Managing Director, JCB India Ltd. remarked that the Indian construction equipment industry now exports to over 135 countries, which is a significant achievement. He noted that as the industry moves up the value chain—especially with the implementation of Stage V emission norms for all equipment, including tracked machines—the global market will expand further. This will position India as a key manufacturing hub for high-quality, globally compliant equipment. He added that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the industry to leverage government support and scale up significantly, while also taking responsibility to extend this growth across the entire supply chain. He emphasized that, alongside multinational presence, strengthening domestic partnerships and encouraging global players to invest in India remains crucial.

V.G. Shaktikumar, Convener, ICEMA Manufacturing & Supply Chain Panel, and Chairman & Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India Pvt. Ltd. outlined three key areas where MSMEs can play a bigger role. First, technology adoption and process improvement will be critical as equipment becomes larger, more advanced, and globally benchmarked. Second, capacity building and scaling up operations will be essential to meet growing demand—from 140,000 units to 250,000 and eventually 400,000 units. This growth cannot be achieved without strong support from the MSME ecosystem. Third, aligning with global quality standards and export requirements will be crucial, as these vary across regions and demand adaptability from both manufacturers and their MSME partners.

The summit saw engaging discussions on resilient supply chains, rapid technology adoption, and alignment with global standards to boost competitiveness. Stakeholders underscored the rising importance of digitalization, AI, and sustainability in shaping the future of manufacturing. With strong industry participation, the event enabled meaningful dialogue on the policy and industry interventions required to unlock the full potential of India’s construction equipment sector.