To provide required boost to the housing sector, the Government of India has selected six cities as "live laboratories" for a pilot project under which 1,000 houses will be built using innovative technologies that are cost-effective, sustainable and disaster-resistant, and adapted to suit Indian conditions. The cities which are selected for the project include Rajkot (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Indore(MP), Chennai (TN), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (UP).
"Six cities have been identified to serve as live laboratories for the Lighthouse project. These are Rajkot (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Agartala (Tripura), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh),"informed Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Secretary, Durga Shanker Mishra at the recently held Construction Technology India - 2019 (CTI-2019) Expo-cum-conference.
'Live Laboratories' For Lighthouse Project
The locations will function as live laboratories for lighthouse projects wherein 54 Proven Technology Providers with 32 new technologies from 25 countries including technologies from USA, France, Australia, Italy, Finland, Spain, and South Korea were on display by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) at the exposition for the adoption of their technology.
“The conventional system of housing construction is time-consuming as well as resource-intensive and emphasized that there is a need to look for new emerging, disaster-resilient, environment-friendly, cost-effective and speedy construction technologies. The shift in technology transition will also address the challenges of large-scale housing construction in minimum time and cost with optimum use of resources and environment-friendly practices,” HUA Ministry said.
The Technology Adoption Is Expected In Other States/Uts
Over the recent launch of the third edition of the Vulnerability Atlas of India, the Government will write to all State Government to use its evaluation before starting construction activities in their cities. The vulnerability Atlas of India is a collation of the existing hazard scenario of India. Mishra said technology adoption would not only take place in these six states, but also in other States and Union Territories.
'April 2019-March 2020' As Construction-Technology Year
At the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference in Delhi, PM Narendra Modi has declared the period from April 2019 to March - 2020 as the “Construction Technology Year”. The PM also emphasizes the use of innovative technology in construction to meet the growing demand for housing in India due to the rapid pace of urbanization.
The Prime Minister said that the Government is also trying to make it easier for people to buy residences, through tax and other incentives. He said the government initiatives such as Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, (RERA), have improved buyers’ confidence in real estate developers and brought transparency in the Real Estate Sector.
These pilot projects would get the regular Prime Minister Awas Yojna (Housing for All–Urban) assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh from the state government and the same amount from the Center besides the innovation grant of Rs 2.5 lakh for each housing unit.
More than 2500 delegates participated in CTI-2019
More than 2,500 delegates from 32 countries participated in the CTI-2019 the conference had four plenary sessions, six technical sessions including a World Cafe, and three master classes.
Reforms to bring an Urban renaissance with an integrated approach to address Urban Challenges, Skills, and Human resources in the construction sector, Ensuring Liveability and desirability of Affordable Housing, enabling Eco-system for new construction technologies, new technologies in construction beyond the housing sector, innovations in construction equipment manufacturing sector were the topics discussed in the session.
For potential technology providers, master classes covered the topics such as Marketing Disruption, Certifications, and Sustainability Matrix for construction.