Hon’ble Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs inaugurates conference on "Adoption of New and Emerging Building Materials and Technologies in Construction Industry" in association with CREDAI

New Delhi: Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs & Petroleum and Natural Gas, today (25th August 2023) inaugurated a conference on "Adoption of New and Emerging Building Materials and Technologies in Construction Industry" at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Shri Kaushal Kishore, Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs also graced the occasion. The day-long event was hosted by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in partnership with Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI). Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA and several key dignitaries from real estate, housing and construction sectors, senior officials from the Ministry and State/UT Governments also attended the event

The conference brought together real estate developers, subject matter experts, urban practitioners and stakeholders from various sectors of the construction industry for cross learning and sharing of ideas for adoption and mainstreaming of innovative construction technologies, materials and processes.

In his keynote address, Hon’ble Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, spoke about how the Ministry has adopted several innovative technologies under different housing projects and shared about the concept of Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-I) and the vision behind it which led to initiative of Light House Projects (LHPs). Hon'ble Minister mentioned that he is happy that the focus is now on new construction technologies and added how PMAY-U has had a profound transformative impact on the lives of people.

The Hon’ble Minister said,“The Government has laid down the roadmap for the construction industry and this conference has brought together some of the finest minds in construction technology and the Indian Real Estate industry. It is imperative we find feasible ways to increase the adoption of emerging materials and technologies in the construction industry and I am confident that the deliberations of this conference will be beneficial for reforming the future discourses in this regard.”

The conference was also addressed by Hon’ble Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, during which he shared that a conference like this will help in fulfilling the increasing housing demand by adopting these techniques. Hon’ble MoS also spoke about how six LHPs are promoting innovation in housing construction sector.

“I hope that all these reformative steps of the Central and State Governments and the revival of the housing construction sector with the participation of private sector organisations like CREDAI will give a boost to the economy. I invite all the stakeholders to come and invest in manufacturing technology and be a part of the country's growth journey and contribute in building a New Urban India,” Hon’ble MoS said.

The conference raised awareness on emerging and sustainable building materials and construction technologies among a wide range of stakeholders which would ensure a more sustainable future.

In his address at the conference, Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA, said that the event will help in mainstreaming the best available construction technologies across the country and enable people to know about their use.

“Gradually, the conventional practices are being replaced by new innovative technologies and the Ministry is taking all efforts to bring a change. In the time to come, the small cities should also be using new technologies to ensure better quality and timely construction which will also reduce the damage of natural resources,” Secretary, MoHUA said.

An exclusive session on Light House Projects was a part of the event. Shri Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary & Mission Director (JS&MD), Housing For All (HFA) led the technical session on aspects of built environment, wherein he shared a presentation on ‘Technology Transition through Light House Projects’, as he spoke about the inception of these model housing projects and how it is adding value to helping in bringing a sustainable and greener tomorrow.

At the session, construction agency officials of six LHPs, namely Chennai, Rajkot, Indore, Lucknow, Ranchi and Agartala also shared their experience of constructing the project at six locations across the country

LHPs are model housing projects constructed using shortlisted alternate technology suitable to the geo-climatic and hazard conditions of the region. These projects demonstrate construction of ready to live houses with maximum speed, economy and with better quality of construction in a sustainable manner. LHPs are fulfilling dreams of poor of owning pucca houses built with modern technology in a gated society with all amenities. With adoption of globally innovative technologies for each LHP site, MoHUA has redefined the way construction was perceived in the country.

LHPs are functional as Live Laboratories to promote widespread learning on the use of innovative construction technologies and mainstreaming in Indian context. These stakeholders, comprising of academicians, students from architecture and engineering colleges, professionals, who visit the sites for learning purposes are called Technograhis. They get hands-on experience about innovative construction technologies used at LHP sites, their usage for replication in future context.

Of the six LHPs, the projects in Chennai and Rajkot were inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2022 and thousands of families are spending a dignified life in their homes at these two places. LHP Indore, LHP Lucknow and LHP Ranchi are nearing completion while LHP Agartala is in advanced stage of construction.

Meanwhile, two panel discussions on the topics - ‘Role of Private Sector in Mainstreaming Innovative Construction Technology Ecosystem’ and ‘Promotion of New & Emerging Building Materials and Processes’ - were also held as part of the conference.

CREDAI President Boman Irani, shared “This conference is a testimony of the labours of the Government of India to give a decisive impetus to all around infrastructural growth of the nation. We laud the efforts of the Government to introduce major policy guidelines and initiatives such as the RERA, GST, Housing for All, Smart cities, among others, that have helped streamline the regulatory process and bring contemporary development. This visionary leadership has paved the path for developers to embark on this journey of building the way to the future. CREDAI is grateful to host this conference as it acts as a pivotal platform for all stakeholders to explore, learn and share knowledge about new building technologies that we’re constantly trying to amalgamate in all our projects to achieve sustainability and innovation.”

The conference on "Adoption of New and Emerging Building Materials and Technologies in Construction Industry" saw a huge footfall of developers and other stakeholders who engaged in insightful discussions and shared innovative ideas and explored the latest trends in adoption of new and emerging building materials and technologies. The participants included officers from private and government sectors, representatives of technology providers, innovators, construction agencies, professionals, academicians among others.

Shri Manoj Gaur, Chairman, CREDAI,shared while expressing his gratitude through a vote of thanks said, “Today, we are paying a tribute to the progress in propagating building technologies and materials in the construction sector in the nation. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs should be thanked for how they have played a key role in the incorporation of global housing technologies here in India.”