Bangalore, 12 December, 2017: Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) EXCON 2017- South Asia’s largest construction equipment exhibition commenced on a high decibel note on Tuesday. CII is organizing EXCON 2017 from 12th to 16thDecember, 2017 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru with the theme ‘Smart Technologies Fueling Next Gen Infra’.
Mr. Anant G. Geete, Hon'ble Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India inaugurated the 9th edition of EXCON 2017 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr. Anant G Geete said, “under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the NDA government is trying to pave the way to lead India as a developed nation. In all these efforts, ‘Make in India’ is a pivotal initiative especially in the heavy industry sector. While we want foreign players to invest in India, our focus is also to encourage Indian companies to invest and grow in India. I am confident that the government will support all companies to make PM’s vision of ‘Make in India’ a successful one. The constitution of equipment makers have good opportunities as there is phenomenal investment being experienced in the Infrastructure sector and we have also launched a slew of schemes to promote the capital goods industry. In the coming years, around INR 7-8 lakh crore is expected to be spent.”
Adding to this, Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog said, “I envisage the construction sector as one of the biggest drivers of the Indian economy in the coming years. Especially with the growing urbanization in our country there is a need to accelerate growth rate by 9-10% year after year for three decades or more to be able to move above the poverty line. In the next five decades we aim to do very compact and dense urbanization as compared to what we have done in the last 5,000 years. The government has not only provided impetus to 100 smart cities, 50 metros etc. but we also see a significant impetus to the railway and irrigation sector. If India’s ambition is to grow 9-10%, the construction sector must grow at nearly 50%each year.
Our objective in the government is to provide the right ecosystem to enable the sector to grow and expand in a much better way. Therefore we have taken a vast number of measures, providing ease of doing business”, he added.
Ms Shobana Kamineni, President, CII said, “Construction industry remains the fundamental strength of the economy with important multiplier impact. Under the Make in India matrix, construction machinery as a key component of the capital goods sector contributes to India’s manufacturing prowess and is set to witness strong expansion”.
Mr Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, CII EXCON 2017 said, The construction industry is headed for better days of a projected stable growth of 10% CAGR over the next 5 years compared to 7% in the previous decade. The Government of India has made infrastructure creation a major pillar for sustained growth and announced a number of projects in roads, railways, metro rail, mining, irrigation, power and urban development which are growth drivers for our industry”
Mr Arving Garg, President, ICEMA; Mr Hari Sankaran, Chairman, CII National Committee on Infrastructure and PPP and Mr Kamal Bali, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council also spoke.
The inaugural session was then followed by an Infrastructure Summit organized by CII which deliberated on the opportunities in infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership (PPP). A CEO’s Round Table Session was also organized which witnessed participation of leading global and Indian CEOs in the infrastructure and construction sectors.
The inaugural session also witnessed the release of CII-ICEMA Report on ‘Indian Construction Equipment Industry’.
The Government of Karnataka is the Host State for EXCON 2017. The Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) is the Sector Partner and supported by the Builders Association of India (BAI).