The manifesto of the NDA points towards building 12,000 km of roads per annum! In 2018-19, even though contracts awarded were to the tune of 15,000 km (against 17,055 km in 2017-18), the figure for roads constructed up to November 2018 has been 5,759 km (against 9,829 km in 2017-18). The NHAI will tweak its strategy for project implementation. It has decided to consider only those projects that require minimal land acquisition as it finalises highway contracts worth about Rs 3 trillion under the Bharatmala scheme.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the NHAI are ready with a list of projects that would be awarded. The land acquisition and other regulatory approvals for these projects, totalling a length of 6,500 km under the Bharatmala scheme are complete, as per officials. Going forward, the country is expected to see a major infrastructure push in urban and rural areas that include doubling the length of highways to two lakh km in the next five years, construction of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), increasing the number of smart cities beyond 100 and fast-tracking the delayed projects. All these lead to better days ahead for construction equipment market.

With the expected infrastructure push in the coming days, the bullish bets of the equipment majors have been vindicated. Now they can well put off their æslow-downÆ instructions and gear up to meet the demands with more efficient and productive equipment.

Hydraulic excavator is perhaps the largest used earthmoving equipment and it is important to scale up the productivity of this equipment to meet the emerging demand from infrastructure projects. Optimum utilisation of excavators will drive towards equipment productivity and operational economy. How technology helps in optimum utilisation of excavators? Which are the other factors that support equipment productivity? What are the new technologies and operational practices that excavator OEMs are offering? Read the Cover story for details.

Starting 2017, the warehousing and logistics market has seen considerable growth after the introduction of GST and the infrastructure status to logistics sector. More investments are coming into the sector to set up new improved warehousing and distribution facilities. The new and upcoming warehouses are looking for advanced handling equipment and storage solutions while the existing facilities are being upgraded to the next level. All these have opened up new opportunities for warehousing and material handling equipment players. The Feature elaborates on the emerging trends.

Telehandler market in India is picking up steadily, growing to the third-biggest market in Asia-Pacific. The use of telehandlers has spread across the segments with more demand in construction and infrastructure projects. The multi-utility feature of this equipment with the help of various attachments has made this special for its users. The Focus explains the market trend of telehandlers globally and in India. The CASH Feature on Hydraulic Motors explains the new market and technology trends. The market is up and good days are ahead. Let's get on to our task of rebuilding India.