Indian construction industry
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East West underground railway connection between Calcutta (Kolkata) and Howrah. |
Construction is the second largest industry in India after agriculture. It is expected to become the largest employer in India by 2022 and the third largest construction industry in the world by 2025, behind only China and America.
Its sectors are categorised as:
The construction industry in India is highly fragmented, with a small number of large companies working across all sectors, a larger number of medium-sized specialist companies, and a large number of and small and medium sized subcontractors. Just 10% of the workforce are categorised as skilled, whilst 90% are unskilled or semi-skilled.
During the middle of the 20th century, the government was main developer, with construction work carried out by state-owned enterprises. Since then there has been significant commercialisation of the sector, and recently, there has been a focus on public-private partnerships to accelerate the development needed to support the urbanisation of the population. In addition, rules on foreign direct investment have been relaxed to help deliver the significant levels of housing and infrastructure required.
However, the growth of the sector has been accompanied by a number of problems.
- Cutting corners to reduce costs and programmes.
- Corruption and regional monopolies.
- Poor health and safety and labour conditions.
- Inadequate project management and controls.
- 20 to 25% time and cost overruns.
- Skills shortages, particularly for new market areas.
- Unregistered contractors.
A number of government policies have been introduced to facilitate the development needed and to encourage the adoption of innovation, modern methods of construction, and digital infrastructure:
- 100 Smart Cities programme.
- Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
- The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme
- The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
- National Skill Development Mission
- Housing for All 2022.
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[edit] External references
- https://www.macegroup.com/perspectives/180910-is-the-indian-construction-sector-prepared-for-growth
- www.indianconstructionindustry.com
- http://www.makeinindia.com/sector/construction
- https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Indian infrastructure
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180410006134/en/Indian-738.5-Billion-Construction-Market-Report-2018-2022
- https://www.maiervidorno.com/construction-industry-india-growth-innovative-technologies/
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