The Narendra Modi government?s several attempts to get the most sought-after tax reform are being thwarted by the Congress majority in the Rajya Sabha, under one guise or the other. This is a big hurdle to the smooth recovery of India?s economy. Absence of GST will adversely affect the growth of all goods sectors with special reference to the CE industry. On one side, it is burdened with delivering new generation, compact equipment to the North-Eastern areas and rural development initiatives which involve transportation of goods through multi-states to reach the delivery destinations. On the other hand, the CE industry also needs to deliver cost-effective equipment at site. Considering the impact of multiple Central and state taxation levies, the very purpose is being defeated. It is high time that Indian politicians abandon their political agendas and instead think about the benefit of the nation.

Road-building activities are on the rise in most parts of India. The new thrust areas are the North-Eastern states, rural sectors and far-flung regions. Without adequate mechanised construction, these endeavours are most likely to fail. Recognising the area-centric working conditions, the manufacturers of road-building plant and machinery are offering suitable, but cost-effective solutions to contractors, backed up by latest technologies and world-class aftermarket support. Please read our Cover Story highlighting their commitment to the cause.

Parallely, asphalt plants play a significant role in road construction, especially in NHAI highways as well as hill roads where concrete roads are not preferred. However, for providing economy in road construction and to simultaneously ease the burden of arranging the required aggregates, the manufacturers are offering RAP processing capabilities in the new plants. Similarly, depending upon the type of the cheapest fuel available, they provide multiple options in their heating systems to support cost-optimisation.

Motor grader is another significant road-building equipment which combines earth and GSB layers spreading with levelling within small tolerance like plus or minus 6 mm, thereby laying the foundation to building high-quality and levelled roads. This is one of the hottest road equipment in the new or used or rental equipment supplier segments. We bring focus on the same for our readers with an advice to ensure adequate and timely availability of motor graders for their road projects.

It is evident that machinery utilisation is on a steep rise, in most categories throughout the country. Regular maintenance is part and parcel of machine uptime. Without proper lubrication no maintenance can be done. We once again visit the lubricants? space to bring forth how this industry is supporting machines in an innovative and cost-effective manner.

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