New Delhi : The Association of Infrastructure Industry (India) recently concluded ‘India Infrastructure Summit’ 2019, an annual event that brings all stakeholders of the Indian infrastructure domain under one roof. Held on 1 March 2019, the theme for this year’s summit was ‘Executable Intelligence’. It refers to all the ideas which can be executed keeping India’s diverse culture and population in mind. The event was attended by stakeholders and experts from the infrastructure domain.

Over 25 panelists, experts and 10 keynote speakers from the field spoke in many sessions which focused on development in rural Infrastructure, ports, smart cities & Indian Railways station development. The experts also discussed aspects of ‘Usership vs Ownership’ in the context of the future of real-estate development in India. The AII (India) is a fledgling national body for stakeholders of the infrastructure industry and aims to represent the concerns, achievements, and point-of-view of the industry across all platforms.

Speaking about this, Mr. Rajaneesh Dasgupta, Director General, Association of Infrastructure Industry (India), said, “India is at the cusp of stupendous progress, and this cannot be complete without the development of infrastructure. However, development is also dependent on new and sustainable ideas and innovations, which can only happen when experts and stakeholders from the field of infrastructure brainstorm together. The Summit is an effort to provide them this platform and encourage idea sharing and execution. We are happy to bring together some of the best minds from this industry and the discussions and deliberations have been very fruitful and enlightening.”

The event began by an unveiling of a report on Infrastructure and Real Estate: A fulcrum for change and economic growth. The session that followed discussed new opportunities in the development of India’s Inland Waterways. Also discussed opportunities in building the rural infrastructure ports, smart cities, challenges & opportunities of shipping in India, Indian Railway station development.

The interesting discussion on ‘Usership vs Ownership’ focused on creating alternative usage within the real-estate domain. The session also mentioned how the government and ministries can work closely with communities in incentivizing the usage of a product or service and provide added benefits to encourage this move

India’s infrastructure is set to take a quantum leap and it needs about 1.5 trillion over the next 10 years to bridge the infrastructure gap. The event was thus an attempt to mobilize the community in this direction. Going forward, the AII (India) aims to introduce more relevant themes in conjunction with the changing themes and landscape.