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COVER STORY
SPOTLIGHT

The JCB Backhoe Loader continues to be a favourite for Growth of Electric Equipment
Infrastructure projects for the last 42 years since it is a versatile, As an industry, Construction Equipment manufacturers are looking
easy-to-use, and easy-to-transport machine. It is suitable for at the viability of electric equipment quite seriously. JCB India
government projects like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been working on its ‘Road to Zero’ initiative for the past few
(PMGSY) and Har Ghar Jal in rural areas. PMGSY was launched years. Early this year we introduced the industry’s first fully Electric
by the Govt. of India to provide connectivity to unconnected Excavator, the JCB 19C-1E at Excon, Bengaluru. JCB 19C-1E is a
habitations as part of a poverty reduction strategy. According to zero-emission machine and has four lithium-ion batteries that power
the latest figures, about 167 thousand unconnected habitations the machine for a full day on a single charge. With a significant
are eligible for coverage under the programme. This involves focus on safety and productivity, JCB’s 2GO system safely isolates
the construction of about 371thousand km of roads for New all controls as a secondary safety system. Its auto-idle and auto
Connectivity and 368 thousand km under upgradation. The Har kick-up redistribute power to preserve battery life. The machine has
Ghar Jal mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate been introduced after rigorous testing and validation.
drinking water through individual household tap connections by Manufacturers need to focus on smaller machines to make the
2024 to all households in rural India. Electric segment popular in the Construction Equipment category.
While the Backhoe Loader is an ideal machine to reach These machines can work well in urban areas and indoor projects.
remote/rural areas, with new road development projects Smaller machines can also work well inside tunnels for hydro,
coming up in remote areas, we are also seeing an metro, and road construction projects. We will require a robust
increase in the purchase of Excavators and Mini Excavators. infrastructure to support Electric Construction Equipment. India right
Projects of significant National Importance are gaining now is at the initial steps of the electric equipment revolution. The
encouraging momentum across the country. Large-scale Government has a relentless focus on the development of EV-
Infrastructure development will require larger and more productive compliant infrastructure across the country. A private consumer
machines, and a recently launched new range of Excavators (JCB expectation survey recently showed that around 66% of Indians
NXT 225LC M) addresses that need. said that electric vehicles will surpass petrol and diesel cars by
We are also observing an increase in government tenders floated 2030. For electric construction equipment, popularity will depend
to acquire construction equipment. The municipal corporations on manufacturers’ investment to develop smaller engines that can
of big states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh regularly provide a powerful experience without compromising on the overall
acquire JCB machines. In rural sectors, Gram Panchayats across cost of the machine.
the country float tenders for equipment that is regularly fulfilled
by JCB. Biggest Infrastructure Projects in India in 2023
Sales of construction equipment — a barometer of economic India’s infrastructure development for the next decade is lined
activity — is expected to increase in healthy double digits in the with huge projects and government schemes. Plans to develop
ongoing financial year on the back of increased government India’s infrastructure have been given impetus through the National
spending on infrastructure projects, especially in rural areas. Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), the National Monetisation Plan (NMP)
The industry estimates sales of construction equipment (domestic and Gati Shakti and the National Single Window System (NSWS).
sales and exports) to grow 15-20% in fiscal 2023. Since JCB has a NIP is an aggregation of social and economic infrastructure
high market share in the sector, the demand for JCB equipment projects. It aims to enhance investor confidence through better
will increase accordingly. One in every two machines is a JCB access to financing resources, and better management of
and we expect that we will continue to support the government projects. The NMP monetises previously government-operated
at the same level. sectors by transferring the operations to private companies in

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