- Pratap Padode, Founder & President, FIRST Construction CouncilThe ability to adapt quickly is what our brands–CONSTRUCTION WORLD, Equipment India, Infrastructure Today and Indian Cement Review–have had to do in the past 200 days. Our information delivery medium has morphed to providing views of business leaders, debates and discussions on industry-specific issues on digital media. India needs to spend 7-8 per cent of its GDP on infrastructure annually, which translates into an annual infrastructure spend of $200 billion; currently we’ve only been able to put around $100-110 billion annually. This gap needs funding through innovative approaches. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) envisages an investment of ` 102 trillion for the next five years but the pandemic has obviously disrupted its priorities. India’s economy is suffering a double whammy. While the Government will cut spending all around, its project pipeline has been the weakest in the past 14 years. Therefore, it is critical that it continues its path of structural reforms. Agriculture and mining reforms have been brought on boldly. Projects like Bogibeel Bridge, Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, Sikkim’s first airport, commercial aviation in Arunachal Pradesh, the Bidar-Kalaburagi railway line, railway connectivity to the Northeast and the recently inaugurated Atal Tunnel at Rohtang have been completed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure–these had been delayed for over a decade. Metro-rail and road projects are holding infrastructure spending steady. Recently, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation also announced plans for seven projects. Both the metro rail and the bullet train are deploying long-term funds from overseas governments at negligible interest rates where contracts are being awarded to Indian companies, building materials are being sourced from India and we are generating employment. Road construction is resetting its model to monetise toll-yielding assets and reduce debt loan. With land cost constituting 40 per cent of the cost, the failing of the land acquisition act is hurting the model’s stability. I have been recommending the abandonment of land purchase and deploying innovative land polling instead. It will save the country over `2 trillion. The quicker NHAI can do this, the quicker it can propel infrastructure. After all, infrastructure is the only way the economy can pick itself up and get back to business. Over the past years, the list of profit-making construction companies has been shrinking. On the brighter side, we’ve had new companies emerging on the scene showing rapid growth. As long as the newcomers outnumber the ones that falter, we will have enough to soldier on. But it is also time to rethink the model that drives them to the point where they delivered a sucker punch. Our GDP for FY19-20 had already slowed. The Indian economy grew at 3.1 per cent in the January to March 2020 quarter–the slowest pace in at least two years. The construction sector also registered a degrowth of 2.2 per cent compared to 6 per cent growth in the previous year. That said, L&T hit a market cap of ` 2 trillion in January 2018 when the GDP was at 7.7 per cent and it has hit ` 1.25 trillion of late. So, the construction sector acts with resilience when faced with crisis. Currently, order books are good. But the worry is about the future, the project pipeline and the Government’s ability to focus on the economy beyond elections. So, when we raise our hands to applaud the winners, let’s remember that they too have fought hard to continue to build against all odds. James Bryant Conant, President, Harvard University, pointed out the one quality that defines winners: “Behold the turtle, he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.” And now it is time for winners who have been sticking their necks out to hold their heads high. I will end with a couplet from Allama Iqbal which has been oft quoted by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, “Sitaaro se aage jahaan aur bhi hai, ishq ke imtehaan aur bhi hai.”