Do you know that L&T’s quarterly revenue is double that of its nearest competitor's annual revenue SN Subrahmanyan, Chairman and Managing Director, formerly took the baton from retiring chairman AM Naik this month. SNS, as he is popularly known, has already embarked on changing the dynamic quotient of the company. He has diversified the revenue through an acquisition in the IT space (Mindtree), and he has also shed businesses (electrical and automation business to Schneider Electric) that L&T does not want to hold onto. The company reported its financial year results for 2022-23, where it has notched annual order inflows of more than Rs.2 trillion, taking the total order book of the company to over Rs.4 trillion, which is nearly equal to its current market capitalisation. Over the last nine years under the current Modi government, its turnover has doubled from Rs.570 billion to Rs.1.10 trillion.The current administration is keen to drive the infrastructure story rapidly, and therefore, this heralds a black swan opportunity for construction companies. (A black swan event is a high-impact event that is difficult to predict under normal circumstances but that in retrospect appears to have been inevitable). In this case, the coming together of multiple positive factors simultaneously could 10X the impact). The PM Gati Shakti initiative has reduced the time taken for DPRs, which will accelerate the time taken for launching projects. Roads and metro rail have always been the drivers of infrastructure development, but Indian Railways (IR) has now gathered speed, especially with High-Speed rail projects. The Railways sector has received the highest-ever capex allocation of Rs.2.6 trillion, with many projects aimed at capacity augmentation and traffic decongestion in the IR network. IR has further announced plans to develop 7 new high-speed rail corridors in the medium to long term, the feasibility studies of which have been initiated. In recent years, there has been a thrust for the development of semi- HSR corridor projects, of which track and systems packages worth Rs.250 billion are expected to be finalised in the next 5 years. ICRA estimates that metro rail projects will provide business opportunities of about `800 billion in the next five years, and consequently, the metro rail network is expected to expand by 2.7 times in the next 5 years. Last month, the PM launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.The ambitious project is estimated to cost Rs.250 billion, where the development will cover 508 stations spread across 16 states and Union Territories. Real estate and building projects are ushering in a new range of opportunities, from airports, hospitals, stadia, retail spaces, educational institutions, IT parks, office buildings, data centres, high-rise structures to mass housing complexes, cement plants, industrial warehouses, and so on. Opportunities in water are being driven by the Jal Jeevan Mission, aiming to provide piped drinking water to 192 million rural households by 2024. Since its inception, over 128 million households have been provided tap water. With the general elections scheduled for 2024 and several state elections around the corner, the Government is working on a war footing to complete its mission.With the announcement of Amrit Kaal as a period where the government envisions a prosperous and inclusive India, in which the fruits of development reach all regions and citizens and include a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances and a robust financial sector, this will be a defining decade for India. This month, the 9th India Construction Festival will be held on 12th October 2023 in Delhi, with three iconic events, namely, the 13th India Roads Conference, the 11th Equipment India Awards, and the 21st Construction World Global Awards. The QR code below will take you to the registration page.The new winners are taking centre stage. Shhh… lights, camera, action!Follow me on twitter @PratapPadode