It is a fact that the industry is under tremendous pressure of economic slowdown. However, hopes are alive as the government is listening to the problems of the industry and working out resolutions for a faster recovery. The message was clear when the leaders of government departments spoke at the India Construction Festival 2019 held on October 15 and 16, 2019 in New Delhi. The road ahead is positive for the infrastructure sector in the country. Flow of funds in the market is going to pick up so that the projects are expected to be on fast track. It may take some time for the industry to yield the benefits of the resolutions. The fiscal 2020-21 can be positive for the market.

The 7th Annual Equipment India Awards held as part of the India Construction Festival created a platform for the Indian construction equipment companies to celebrate their remarkable achievements in the difficult market conditions. The Awards recognised and rewarded the top performers in the construction equipment industry. Apart from the 12 awards in the Bestseller Product category, there were two new awards introduced in Best Debutant and Best Innovation products. The coveted Equipment India Person of the Year Award was conferred on Vijay Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Action Construction Equipment. He received the award from the last year's winner Deepak Garg, CEO, Sany India. A special award this year decided by the Jury panel was the Lifetime Achievement Award. Sumit Mazumder, Chairman and Managing Director, TIL, won this prestigious award. We congratulate all the winners for their fabulous achievements. The two-day India Construction Festival 2019 included four important events of India Roads Conference, Construction World Global Awards, Construction World-ENR Leadership Summit, and the Equipment India Awards. The event was remarkable with the presence of key personalities from the government and industry, including NN Sinha, Chairman, NHAI; Dr Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and Anil Swarup, Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal. Read the Cover Story and the following Event Report section for details on the event.

The Indian mining sector has reasons to cheer with some landmark announcements by the government, including 100 per cent FDI in commercial coal mining. This is expected to open the doors to international miners which will help the coal mining sector to gain advanced methods and technologies for better mining process. Once implemented, this will create an opportunity for mining equipment companies to sell more equipment and technologies in the market. Meanwhile, the contract mining in coal sector is expected to multiply four times from what it is today, according to a recent KPMG report. The report, which was also presented at the Equipment India Awards, indicates that the coal mining market is going to mature in the years to come with better mining practices and entry of bigger players. Currently, the mining sector in India is working in the lower end of the equipment spectrum. This is expected to change when time progresses. Considering all these trends, we hope the construction and mining equipment market has good days ahead.