Lok Sabha has passed the GST Bill, clearing the deck for its smooth rollout from this July. Termed as independent India?s biggest reform initiative, the GST Bill is expected to bring together the entire nation on a single platform of taxation. However, there are speculations from some consumers and industry on the Bill. Originally, the GST Bill was conceived as a single uniform tax across all product categories under the concept of one country-one tax. What is there in the Bill is a multi-tier tax structure with different tax rates for different product categories under GST. How these will impact the industry and various products is a hot topic of debate now. 

The roads & highways sector has got a boost in Budget 2017 with increased allocation to highways, rural roads and coastal roads. Although the targets for 2016-17 have not been achieved, the coming year promises to improve upon the previous one. In FY17, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded road projects for 3,000 km (8.2 km per day) and constructed 2,350 km (6.5 km per day). This is well below its initial target of awarding 15,000 km and constructing 8,000 km of roads. Indian roads and highways are largely asphalt paved. Though there has been a policy shift by NHAI to convert almost all four- and six-lane National Highways into concrete roads, the network of state highways, district roads and rural roads makes up the lion?s share of the total road network in India. Increased focus on roads and highways will directly have a positive impact on the demand for asphalt-related equipment. New projects coming up in the airport and port sectors will also see increased requirement of asphalt plants. Our Cover Story on these plants discusses the road ahead for this range of equipment in the coming years, in terms of demand and technology developments.

Pavers find major applications in road construction. With agencies such as NHAI and the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) stressing more on quality in road construction, sensor pavers will have an increased importance in road construction in the years to come. Though mechanical pavers are more in numbers, it is expected that sensor pavers will take over the numbers in the future. Our Feature on sensor pavers sheds light on the current market for this equipment and the expected demand growth in future.

On an aside, the verdict delivered by the Supreme Court has saddled the industry with Rs 20,000 crore of BS-III inventory which the industry would have to absorb within its growth plans. Most would accelerate exports to get rid themselves of this burden. With the BS-IV norms applicable from April 1, off-road equipment players are also gearing up for design changes and improvements in efficiency and emission compliance with the emerging requirements, as and when the next level of norms will be in place. Our feature on emission compliance discusses in detail the essentials. Read more on the same in our CASH Focus on Diesel Engines.