Great expectations follow the great pandemic

Captains of industry, whose opinions each year are a reflection of the pain points in their sectors, speak up in a year beset by the pandemic. Although the effects of Covid-19 are far from over, industry expectations of the Finance Minister indicate that adaptation has already become the new normal._______ REAL ESTATEReal estate has been the surprise of the Covid period, acting as a catalyst of sorts for economic recovery. What is the roadmap for the sector as the major players see it? Rajeev Talwar, CEO, DLF Ltd, and Chairman, NAREDCOShishir Baijal, CMD, Knight Frank India Chintan Sheth, Director, Ashwin Sheth GroupSharad Mittal, Director and CEO, Motilal Oswal Real EstateNimish Gupta, Managing Director, RICS (South Asia)Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE Annuj Goel, MD, Goel Ganga DevelopmentsManish Mehan, CEO and MD, thyssenkrupp Elevator (India)Vineet Nalawala, Partner, Veritas Legal Pavitra Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade GroupLOGISTICSIf one sector has been in sharp focus in recent weeks, it is logistics. The distribution network for Covid-19 vaccines is acting as the thread the connects the country through cold chain and storage infrastructure. What did we discover as some critical requirements that the sector needs?Dhruvil Sanghvi, CEO, LogiNextSanjay Bhatia, Co-Founder, FreightwallaPrakash Patel, Founder and Managing Director, Bhumi World MANUFACTURINGAnother sector that will prove to be a barometer of economic recovery is manufacturing. Imperilled by the lockdown and struggling to resurface, how the sector recovers will determine the path of recovery for the entire construction and infrastructure industries. Here is a sample of what the sector is seeking this year.Manish Bhatnagar, Managing Director, SKF IndiaGeorge Rajkumar, Country President, Grundfos IndiaHarsha Kadam, CEO, Schaeffler India andPresident, Industrial BusinessVikas Bajaj, President, Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI)Amar Kaul, CMD, Ingersoll Rand India Limited Alok Kirloskar, Director at Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL) and MD at SPP Pumps Limited, UK Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss Industries (India Region) ENERGYThe power and renewable sector has had much to smile about in terms of policy, but both the finance and pace of change can be better addressed in the age we are entering: one where electric vehicles will swarm the roads but charging technology has not kept pace. Where should budgetary investments focus?Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss Industries (India Region)