REGIONAL REPORT DFI of India Dr. K.S. Rama Krishna DFI of India Chair [email protected] Optimism for 2016 In my regional report published in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue one year ago, I mentioned the new impetus being given by the government of India in the development of our much- needed infrastructure. Since then, the government has launched several initiatives to put India’s economy on a path to rapid growth. These include creating a congenial business environment , encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and promoting skill development. The government’s two flagship programs, “Make in India” and “Digital India,” seem to be catching the attention of several industrialized nations. According to various reports, the Indian economy grew 7.3% in 2015 and has the potential to grow at a very healthy rate of 8% every year between 2016 and 2020. The size of the Indian economy, which was estimated to be around USD 2 trillion in 2014, is expected to double to USD 4-5 trillion in a decade. According to one of the World Bank reports, India overtook Japan as the world’s third largest economy in 2014 in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). All of these reports indicate that India is emerging as an exciting place of positive human activity, offering great opportunities for willing nations to play a significant role in India’s growth story. It is person-to-person contact and nations coming together to build for the future generations that make the world a peaceful and happy place to live. In this great human effort, business is only incidental. When I contacted a few companies associated with construction and construction equipment, I sensed that the mood of the Indian construction industry is changing from one of positive anticipation to definite and positive action. Although much of the piling equipment is still lying idle, I am pretty sure that this situation will soon improve and that all foundation contractors will be gainfully engaged in active and prestigious foundation construction contracts. Soon, there will be enough scope for several international foundation companies to set up shop in India and join hands with local companies in this great effort called “Build India.” Successful Workshops DFI of India stepped up its activity in 2015. We organized four workshops, one in each of the four quarters of India: Bhubaneswar in the East, Surathkal in the South-West, Bangalore in the South of India and Baroda (Vadodara) in the North-West. On behalf of DFI of India, I thank executive committee members Dr. Laxmikanta Tripathy, Dr. V. Balakumar and Ravikiran Vaidya for their active role DFI Executive Director Theresa Engler and DFI of India Executive Committee Member Mohan Ramanthan in Oakland, Calif. in successfully conducting these workshops. The DFI-India 2015 Conference at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Deep Foundation Technologies for Infrastructure Development in India was also very successful and we are very thankful to Professor G. L. Sivakumar Babu, Dr. P. Raghuveer Rao and their team at IISc Bangalore for their active and enthusiastic support. Inauguration ceremony at the DFI-India 2015 Conference We also want to thank I. V. Anirudhan and his editorial team for successfully publishing three issues of DFI of India Quarterly this year. We have not made significant progress on our other initiatives slated for 2015: Technology Implementation, Operator Training, and Funding Projects of Practical Importance. With the active participation and cooperation of executive committee members Arvind Shrivastava, chief engineer (civil) and head, civil engineering group of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and Jeyson Samuel, deputy general manager of L&T GeoStructure, we should be able to implement the Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piling technology initiative. This is the first DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2016 • 47
