The current upswing in road construction has seen the size of the motor grader market rise. Demand is being seen across both the heavier (170-180-200 hp) and lighter class (140-150 hp) of motor graders. The higher-powered machines are generally used for grading requirements of 160-200 cum/hr, while the lighter units are for grading requirements of 100-120 cum/hr. A major chunk of the demand is coming from subcontractors. Motor graders are a highly-evolved technology product. The grader has a strong role in the pre-compaction stage and sub-base preparation with fine grading, spreading, and levelling the ground. It uses a hydraulic blade to push large amounts of soil and can be adjusted with a simple lever by the operator. The higher-powered machines are generally used for grading requirements of 160-200 cum/hour, while the lighter units are for grading requirements of 100-120 cum/hourGrowing market A report from Off-Highway Research revealed, “Sales of motor graders follow very closely the trends of expenditure on the construction of new roads and the maintenance of the road network, so demand for machines will largely depend on the speed at which existing and future road projects are executed. The backlog of pending road construction work in the country as well as the government’s ambitious infrastructure development plans, offer huge potential for growth in the motor grader demand.” Speaking on the current market size of motor graders in India, Vivek Hajela, Vice President and Head – Construction Equipment Business, Larsen & Toubro, said, “Motor graders are a highly-evolved technology product and now mandatory for the construction of highways. The grader has a strong role in the pre-compaction stage and sub-base preparation with fine grading, spreading, and levelling the ground. It uses a hydraulic blade to push large amounts of soil and can be adjusted with a simple lever by the operator. We can roughly divide the graders into three categories – small, medium, and large. Put together, the market size of graders in India is 1,600 numbers annually. Komatsu graders viz., GD535 and GD555 are popular models in the premium segment and have a pan-India presence with deployment in highways and expressways. The large-size Komatsu Grader models like GD705 and GD825 have been deployed for maintenance of haul roads in coal and mining projects.” The demand for motor graders is directly proportional to the construction of roads and highways. Both Central and State Governments have been giving impetus to roads and highways since the early 2000s when Golden Quadrilateral and North-South/East-West corridors construction was underway. Since then, the demand for motor graders has expanded. The construction of roads and highways has further expanded to Bharatmala, expressways, economic corridors, coastal roads, strategic roads at the border, etc., and now the announcement of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) encompasses all of them. During the past few years, government spending on infrastructure and construction activities is on the rise globally, especially in developing nations like India, China. The compact design of the grader is highly suitable for small to medium road projects in villages and cities and also makes them the most preferred choice of contractors for road projects like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Soyjna (PMGSY) schemes, etc. in developing nations like India. According to Motor Intelligence report, “The motor graders market is projected to grow with a CAGR of more than 5 per cent during the forecast period”. The Asia-Pacific region remains the largest market for motor graders market. This growth can be attributed to the factors such as increasing construction activities in the countries like China, India, which are the fastest developing nations in the world. The government in the region is spending heavily on developing world-class facilities, which are driving the demand for motor graders.Wide range of motor graders