Covid 19 pandemic has exposed the global supply chain’s perils of depending on one country for the supply of critical components for making products. With many global companies adopting China-Plus One policy for diversifying their sourcing requirements, India has a chance to become the leading supplier to the global manufacturing industry. But to reach this stage, India will have to be ahead of their competing countries to attract global investors.

To achieve, the Government of India launched Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme with an intention to make India self-sufficient and a global manufacturing hub. Against this background, IPF will host a webinar on “Aatmanirbhar Bharat: The story so far” on January 21, 2022.

Webinar on THE ILCC 2021 OPPORTUNITY & LEAN CONSTRUCTION BENEFITS is presented by Construction World and Institute for Lean Construction Excellence (ILCE )

PROGRAMME

• 3.00 – 3.05 Welcome & Background – Prof.N.Raghavan, IIT Madras, Director, ILCE
• 3.05 - 3.10 Address by Mr Anup Mathew, Chairman of the Board, ILCE; Head- Godrej Construction
• 3.10 – 3.20 Lean Construction for today’s Construction – Prof. Koshy Varghese, PhD.- IIT Madras & Director, ILCE
• 3.20 – 3.30 – Lean Construction applications in Project sites – Mr Giridhar Rajagopalan, Dy. Managing Director- Afcons Infra & Director,ILCE
• 3.30 – 3.45 –Discussion: Dr Ganesh Devkar, CEPT University & Prof. N.Raghavan – Upcoming ILCC 2021 Conference- Dec 1-3 at CEPT, Ahmedabad
• 3.45 - 3.58 – Questions & Answers- Moderated by Ms Diamond Barretto, Godrej Constructions
• 3.58 - 4.00 Vote of Thanks- Mr Kaezad Karanjawala, Secretary General, ILCE

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Construction World and Swarajya join hands together to bring you InfraNirbhar – a webinar series of eight webinars to help you decode the Government's Master Plan for economic recovery through infrastructure. These eight webinars will be held between 22nd February and 22nd March 2021.

Prime Minister Modi has identified infrastructure as a key element of India's quest for Atmanirbhar “Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation— these five things are important to speed up India’s development and make it ‘atmanirbhar’. You will get a glimpse of these in the bold decisions recently taken by us”.

Swarajya, one of India's leading print cum digital outlet and Construction World,India’s premier and largest circulated construction business magazine have both been in the forefront of chronicling developments in Indian Infrastructure.Both publications enjoy great degree of traction among policy makers, analysts and subject matter commentators.

As part of our continued commitment to highlight the progress and challenges in infrastructure domain, Swarajya and Construction World are organising a multi-part webinar series which will comprise sessions on themes related to infrastructure (rail, road, metro, urbanisation, defence, National infra pipeline, High speed rails,etc). The first three webinars part of the eight webinar series are:

Webinar sessions include the following topics:

• Metro Vision (22nd February 2021, 3:00PM to 4:30 PM) Keynote Speaker: Shri Hardeep Puri, MoHUA
• Financing Infrastructure(23 rd February 2021, 3:00PM to 4:30 PM) Keynote Speaker: Dr Somnathan, Expenditure Secretary, MoF
• Building Smart and Sustainable Urban Infrastructure (3rd March 2021, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM) Keynote Speaker: Shri Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor, Govt of India)
• National Infrastructure Pipeline (2021-22)
• Railways on Fast Track
• Corridors of Connectivity
• Housing For All

The government is expected to boost spending in the next fiscal year 2021-22. Its efforts in making India self-reliant through Atmanirbhar Bharat will need encouragement. Infrastructure, arguably the mainstay of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, could see a heightened push. However, there are chances that the Centre’s effort may face roadblocks due to the states’ limited capacity to spend. A higher spending in the budget due in February will lay the foundations for even stronger growth in the next four to five years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently said. FM Sitharaman had suggested the government could open purse strings in the months ahead to boost the growth rate. On these grounds, FIRST Construction Council is launching the # CWBudget21. This consists of a series of initiatives including a budget special issue released after the budget, a webinar post budget with experts and a web page that keeps visitors updated. The webinar on 2nd February 2021 will host Industry leaders for an analytical discussion on budget announcements. A dedicated page for Budget 2021 has also been built where articles containing in-depth analysis and videos interviews and interactions with industry stalwarts would be found, all in one place. Visit: https://www.constructionworld.in/budget-2021

The cement industry in India has been growing conscious in its approach towards emission reduction. Cement manufacturers have been implementing new technologies to improve productivity, reduce wastage and emissions that pollute the air. Today, cement plants are being equipped with air pollution control equipment (APCEs) such as electrostatic precipitators (ESP), bag house with glass fibre membrane filters and ESPs modified with bag filters, called hybrid filters.

The current scenario of pollution levels that cement manufacturing contributes to, makes it critical for cement manufacturers to consider adopting ‘technological advancements towards reduction of emissions in cement plants’.

Presenting Partner

In real estate, there have been several instances where projects face collaboration issues among stakeholder groups, which require significant rework of the design or construction. Constructible BIM helps improve the construction cycle by increasing accuracy, reducing duplication of work, identifying standard and repetitive components and removing issues before the construction process commences. It connects all stakeholders to focus on data-driven construction. The Government of India has been considering BIM as a vital tool to speed up construction work across the country and achieve its ambitious target of Housing for All. And especially during the pandemic times, when remote working is the preferred approach, the correct adoption of such modern construction technology can greatly aid industry stakeholders.

Presenting Partner

Recent reports reveal that as many as 403 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of over Rs 4.05 lakh crore owing to delays and other reasons. In the case of roads, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that cost of road construction in India must come down without compromising on quality. It has become even more important to achieve the desired speed of construction and quality and at an optimised cost.

India intends to increase contribution of manufacturing to the GDP from present 16-17 per cent to 25 per cent. The Government has initiated a number of schemes offering incentives to manufacturers (Indian as well as global) to step up manufacturing activity in the country. Special attention has been given on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), who contribute majorly to the Indian economy and provide job for millions. Amid COVID 19 pandemic, global companies are also looking at new venues to shift manufacturing or diversify sourcing as they have

realised the drawback of depending on one country (read China) for their raw material needs. India could be a major beneficiary of this shift provided we have a strong ecosystem of suppliers/manufacturers who have the capability to supply quality products on time.

Against this background, Industrial Products Finder will be hosting a “Buyer-Seller Summit” webinar - a knowledge sharing platform aimed at equipping Indian manufacturers/MSMEs to understand the market requirement and upgrade themselves to increase indigenous production.

The "Buyer-Seller Summit" webinar will highlight on:

• Procurement strategies of the buyers (ie big organisations)
• PSUs procurement policies especially for MSMEs
• Vendor development programme or any other support given by the buying organisation to vendors/MSME manufacturers
• Tips for Indian manufacturers to be a part of global supply chain of multinational companies (MNCs)

Construction World magazine in association with Bentley Systems is pleased to invite you to the webinar on “Leveraging Technology for Collaboration & Control in Roads & Highways projects” on October 1, 2020.

The webinar will focus on how the digital transformation of project delivery eco-system can help in delivering road and highway projects efficiently, bringing certainty in cost and time.

Some of the key reasons for cost and time overruns in road and highway projects are often attributed to field survey quality; quality of design reports; ineffective project monitoring, lack of collaboration between stakeholders, reactive approach, etc.

Presented By

In May 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' to make India not just a self-reliant nation, but also take its manufacturing prowess to the world.India goal of self-reliance could not be achieved without creating a strong local supply chain network, with manufacturers from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) playing a major role. To develop robust supply chain network, SMEs need to know the needs of their buyers (mainly big govt.organisations/companies and private firms) and upgrade themselves to meet the expectations of their buyers. Against this background, IPF will be hosting a “Buyer-Seller Summit” webinar - a knowledge sharing platform aimed at equipping SMEs to fulfil the goals of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Presented By

Post COVID-19, the world of construction will undoubtedly undergo a transformation. Besides, skilled labour – even before the migrants labour issue due to the pandemic-led lockdown – has been a never-ending menace in India’s construction industry. The industry currently absorbs roughly 68 million people, of whom more than 90 per cent are deployed in building construction. Over 80 per cent of those employed in building and construction are minimally skilled, according to this report.

Evidently, this paucity of skills – which hits the construction industry in many ways – requires prefabricated or modular construction and precast that can help accelerate projects. Here’s why! Precast can work parallel onsite and offsite, and the developer is saved from allocating separate land area and providing material, labour and other associated activities. While there are many advantages of prefabricated and precast technologies, they mainly save time, assure better quality, and is sustainable in nature.

The concept of prefabrication is indeed gaining prominence in the industry. Its entry has paved the way for innovation with technologically-advanced construction and design methods. What’s more, this technology can be used for all kinds of construction: High-rises, low-rises, villas and mass townships. According to the Prefabricated Buildings Market Report, the industry is expected to reach US$ 135,945.6 million by 2023. The global prefabricated buildings market is expected to grow at a rapid rate, with the commercial segment dominating it at present.

Presenting Partner

Read Post webinar article: Precast & Prefab Technology

The Gujarat Real Estate industry has also suffered a big blow as has the rest of the country on account of the pandemic. Recently, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveiled a Rs 140 billion rescue plan for the industries and businesses. Some reliefs have been provided for real estate too including a Rs 1,000 crore allocation as subsidy for an estimated 160,000 affordable houses in the state including Rs 525 crore of interest subsidy on loans upto Rs 2.5 lakhs availed by shop owners and small business owners. Apart from this, Rs 350 crore allocation for 100,000 homeless tribal workers as beneficiaries of concrete houses in their native villages.

But there are multiple issues affecting the industry. To discuss the issues and bring them to the attention of the authorities, Construction World, India's largest circulated construction business magazine is hosting a webinar RESETTING REAL ESTATE IN GUJARAT on 24th June 2020.

Read Post webinar article: Resetting Real Estate in Gujarat

While COVID 19 posed challenges to all industries, Indian manufacturers of technical textiles, which find usage across industrial sectors, converted this crisis into opportunity by scaling up negligible production of PPE kits to over 2 lakh units per day in a short duration of time. So, can companies replicate this success in the other segments of the sector?

To answer this and other questions, The Indian Textile Journal (ITJ) is organising a webinar on technical textiles and will discuss the following points:

• How technical textiles industry rose to the occasion amid COVID 19 pandemic
• India’s standing in the global technical textile market
• Key challenges faced by technical textile manufacturers
• New opportunities before Indian technical textiles industry
• Will COVID 19 give a fillip to the technical textiles sector beyond Protech & Meditech segments?

This webinar is supported by our Associate Partner:

"Metro rail networks stretching over 1,500 km, including rapid rail transit system (RRTS) projects, are being proposed to be laid over the next 5 years across various cities. The proposed Rs 3-trillion expenditure on these projects comprised central and state government equity, apart from funding by other agencies. Over the past 5 years, metro projects totalling 877 km were put in the pipeline in 27 cities, of which 400 km have already been laid and the work on the remaining sections is underway. With funding for most metro projects already available, Indian cities had one project which was taking the country by storm when the pandemic hit like a speed breaker. Now metro construction has been given a green light. Experts will discuss during this webinar organised by Construction World/ Infrastructure Today, the restarting of metro projects on which billions are riding."

This webinar is supported by our Gold Partner:

Read Post webinar article: The new Metro Life-Line

Recent events have indicated that building fires have continued to devastate cities whether in Mumbai or Dubai. Safety is a prime concern due to COVID19 crisis today. Building efficiency too would play a major role especially as building maintenance, electricity and water charges are going to be under the scanner due to cost consciousness. How would real estate, building design and planning change Post-COVID19?

Read Post webinar article: Building Safety & Efficiency

The country has been reeling under heavy economic stress due to the Covid-19 driven lockdown. The impact has put core sectors into a downward spiral, including Construction Projects, Construction Equipment, MSME businesses and more!

PM Modi recently announced a 20 Lakh Crore stimulus for the economy, committing as much as 10% of the GDP amount to address the financial stress. Will PM Modi's relief package rescue India?

Read Post webinar article: Will PM Modi's economic package revive Indian businesses?

The current Covid-19 situation is paving way for the SME’s to garner knowledge and innovate new methods of connecting with prospects and generating business relevant leads. India’s Largest Circulated SME Magazine, Industrial Products Finder, reaches to SMEs and MSMEs across 600 cities.

What topics will be covered in the Webinar?

• Advantage of digitalization across manufacturing, distribution, sales & marketing and etc.
• Challenges before SMEs while adopting digital technologies
• Tips for SMEs to cost-effective adopt digital technologies/Strategy to be adopted by SMEs while adopting digitalization
• Will Covid-19 episode fasten the process of digitalization?

Read Post webinar article: Is digitalisation cost-effective for SMEs

Amidst all this, the revamped port community system(PCS), the National Single Window is expected to connect and provide real time information to stakeholders on a single platform. Other measures include web based e-forms and direct port delivery, installation of container scanners and radio frequency identification-based systems for gate automation, digitalisation of land records.

port services have been brought under the ‘essential services list’, some vessels which came alongside berths have encountered difficulties in carrying out cargo operations as only 20-25% of the total workforce were present. There is also a shortage of trucks, which is badly affecting cargo evacuation alongside berths and at storage yards. Huge backlogs of containers building up at key Indian gateways such as Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Chennai, forwarders warned that over the next month port congestion in some parts of the world would lead to shortages of equipment elsewhere and create significant liabilit issues for shippers globally. The National Infrastructure Pipeline has proposed Rs 1.02 trillion to be spent on this sector by 2025. Discussing the way forward Infrastructure Today/ Construction World is hosting a webinar with experts on the subject."

Read Post webinar article: Smartening Port Conclave

The world of construction too will undergo a transformation with COVID19. Construction equipment will now not only have to provide for safety features that it has incorporated so far, but automation would be now an essential feature of the fleet. Precast factories would serve the needs better than traditional concrete mixes on site. Safety gear, masks, sanitisers, infra red thermometers, disinfectants would be part of the arsenal. Drone technology would become hugely necessary too. To view the scenario experts from the industry discuss on the webinar being organised by Construction World.

Read Post webinar article: Construction Technologies Post COVID-19

The Lock Down is likely to be eased in 40% of the country soon. It is time to examine how do we get going post-Lock Down as the enemy, COVID19, is still lurking around. Experts will discuss - Precautions to be taken by companies while starting their manufacturing plant - How to tackle supply and distribution side challenges - Right strategy for logistics and warehouse management

Read Post webinar article: Restarting Manufacturing Process Post Lock Down

Covid 19 pandemic will have big impact on merchandise exports in 2020. Even before the lockdown, India’s merchandise exports declined by 1.5% between April 2019-Feb 2020 compared to the same period last year.

As Indian exporters wait for some meaningful dole-out, Industrial Products Finder (IPF) magazine will host a webinar - “Re-inventing India’s export strategy” - to discuss the following areas:

• Impact of Covid 19 on India’s merchandise exports
• Policies and schemes of the government to lift exports
• Funding options available for exporters
• Opportunities for engineering exports: Countries and products
• Is there a silver lining for exporters due to Covid 19 (as MNCs may like to move away from China)?

Read Post webinar article: Re-inventing India’s export strategy

The webinar will highlight the effect of Covid 19 on the textile industry and growth strategies for the future. It will broadly cover following areas:

• Impact of Covid 19 on the textile industry
• Probable solutions before the industry to reduce the impact
• Post Covid 19 recovery strategy (with respect to processes to be adopted for business/finance, exports, technology, supply chain, etc)
• How to take advantage of new opportunities after Covid 19

Read Post webinar article: Reweaving the success story of the textile industry amid Covid 19

Cities drive economic growth. But with COVID19 the economic engines are in danger. Whether a government locks down a city or minimises its pace by strict rules, the outcome is 'financial disaster'. Cities need to act fast and use its resources well to stem the pandemic so that they can go back to moving the economic engine. Smart Cities Council India is organising a Webinar on 'How Asian Cities are coping with COVID19' or 'COVID19: Lessons from Asian cities'

Read Post webinar article: How Asian Cities are Coping with COVID 19

The National Infrastructure Pipeline released by the government has laid out a spend of Rs 102 trillion on projects over 2020-25. During the period 2008-18 a total of Rs 14 trillion has been spent on roads. While during the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as roads have been provided 19 per cent allocation amounting to a total spend of Rs 19.63 trillion.

Read Post webinar article: Roads to Recovery

The negative effect of the new coronavirus (Covid 19) pandemic on businesses (globally and in India) is clearly visible as industrial activities have come to a complete standstill. Impact has been severe on SMEs, who operate on tighter credit and cash flow constrain. It is a question of survival for many. While the government has announced some measure to reduce the Covid effect, getting reliable and accurate information about these relief packages and financial support initiatives is equally important. At the same time, SMEs also will have to take steps to survive during these trying times and be ready to take a leap when situation start returning to normal.

Read Post webinar article: Recovery Strategies for SMEs

Real Estate could not have been at a worse spot. Cyclically it followed a course of booms and troughs but now the COVID19 pandemic has been a multi whammy of sorts. There is unsold inventory yet to be taken off the shelves, there is an issue of project delays, there are over leveraged balance sheets and there is a whole rising stock of affordable housing. Furthermore, the commercial real estate area is facing the worst onslaught of COVID19 with malls, theatres, offices under Lock Down and the prospects of attracting footfalls seems a pipedream.

The webinar 'The Real Estate Challenge' is powered by JSW Cement

("Advisory Notice: It has come to our notice that there are fake websites selling the cement under the name of JSW Cement. Please be aware that we are not selling our products online through any website or other e-commerce platforms" )

Read Post webinar article: Real Estate Challenges

How Safe are Industrial Workplaces in India?

In India, as part of its reform process, the Union Government is planning to subsume as many as 44 central labour laws in to 4 Labour Codes - on wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. Critics argue that the proposed Labour Codes overlook workers’ safety as the draft code looks to reduce safety inspections for companies deploying fewer than 500 people.

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Read Post webinar article: Industrial Safety & Security - How safe are workplaces in India

The Supreme Court on 17th March held that Architects Act, 1972 does not prohibit individuals not registered under the Act to undertake the practice of architecture and other cognate activities.The Court has now held that while Section 37 does not bar a person not registered under the Act from carrying out activities related to the profession, it prohibits an unregistered person from using the title of architect. In other words, a person carrying out architectural activities need not be registered with the Council of Architecture (the regulatory body for architects in India).

The webinar 'The Architects Challenge' is powered by JSW Cement

("Advisory Notice: It has come to our notice that there are fake websites selling the cement under the name of JSW Cement. Please be aware that we are not selling our products online through any website or other e-commerce platforms" )

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Read Post webinar article: The Architects Challenge