Yes, India is the fourth country to land its spacecraft on the moon! We have reasons to feel like we are 'over the moon.' Over the past 25 years, India has built up gross domestic savings of $12 trillion, and over the coming 25 years, this number is expected to surge to over $100 trillion! What took 25 years to reach here will take five years to reach the same quantum in most aspects. The value of real estate under construction, which was Rs.4.6 trillion in 2009, is Rs.22.8 trillion in 2022. Residential real estate sales clocked 3.6 lakh units in 2022, creating a new peak surpassing 2014 levels. India has also become an increasingly attractive location for multinationals across a wide range of industries, with foreign direct investment inflows (FDI) having reached a new record high of USD 85 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal year. The gross inward FDI was USD 71 bilIndia, not China, has the secondlargest road network in the world after the US, spanning about 63.32 lakh km. This comprises National Highways, Expressways, State Highways, Major District Roads, District Roads, and Village Roads as underlion in 2022-23.NHAI awarded total projects of 6,003 km with a value of Rs.1.26 trillion during FY23. A provisional target of constructing about 13,800 km has been set for 2023-24.Now, all infrastructure projects over Rs.500 crore require approval from the Network Planning Group (NPG). The group comprises representatives of all infrastructure ministries to ensure that their planning conforms to the objectives of the Gati Shakti Master Plan. The approval of the NPG is required before the project is cleared by the Public Investment Board (PIB) or the department of expenditure. The NPG has recently approved 100 projects worth Rs.5.89 trillion (out of a total of Rs.12 trillion worth project under the PM Gati Shakti Plan). Of this, 40 road projects total an investment of Rs.3.65 trillion. In addition, 40 railway projects worth Rs.95,704 crore and eight urban development projects with an investment of Rs.79,016 crore have also been given the go-ahead.But let's not get moonstruck. Challenges persist. Delays, for one, continue to plague the infrastructure sector. According to the latest report for July 2023 by the Project Monitoring Division, 809 projects were delayed, and 213 projects were behind schedule even after being granted extensions. The road sector had the greatest number of delayed projects at 262, followed by railways at 115 and the petroleum sector at 89.We also need to build skills. As per the India Skills Report 2023, six out of the ten most dangerous jobs worldwide are in the construction industry. It states that future construction jobs will have very high-tech requirements. Therefore, in order to control machinery like trucks and cranes, specialists would need extensive technical abilities.Construction jobs will significantly shift as the current technology is witnessing a significant development era. So future jobs will require advanced skills as machines surpass human skills. Technology development is integrating automation in several domains and helping us surpass the restrictions of our capabilities in the construction industry. Building capacity is our next biggest challenge, and the India Construction Festival 2023 scheduled for October 12th in Delhi is dedicated to 'Skill Development.' Scan this QR code and register.Follow me on twitter @PratapPadode