Building a Future-Ready India: How Fast Construction is Shaping the Country's Urban Landscape

India is undergoing rapid urbanisation, transforming its cities and towns. According to the United Nations, India's urban population is expected to grow from 483 million in 2020 to 675 million in 2035, making it the second-largest urban nation in the world after China. This massive urban growth poses significant challenges and opportunities for the country's development, especially regarding infrastructure, housing, environment, and governance.

One of the key factors that can enable India to cope with its urbanisation challenges and achieve its development goals is fast construction. Fast construction refers to using innovative technologies, methods, and materials that can speed up the delivery of high-quality and affordable buildings and infrastructure. Many people may not realise that India has witnessed some of the fastest building constructions in the world. In 2012, the Instacon Tower in Mohali, Punjab, was completed in just 48 hours – becoming the fastest building construction in India.

But how is fast construction shaping the country’s urban landscape in totality? And how will that build a future-ready India? The answer lies in diving into the multiple benefits for India's urban landscape that fast construction offers. Let us take a look.

Reducing the Housing Deficit

India faces a huge shortage of housing units, especially for the low-income and economically weaker sections of society. According to a report by McKinsey Global Institute, India needs to build 20 to 25 million new housing units by 2025 to meet the demand. Fast construction can help bridge this gap by enabling the production of prefabricated and modular housing units that can be assembled on-site in days or weeks rather than months or years.

Improving the Quality of Life

Fast construction can also improve the quality of life for India's urban dwellers by providing them with better access to basic services and amenities, such as water, sanitation, electricity, transportation, health care, and education. Fast construction can facilitate the development of smart cities that use digital technologies and data analytics to optimise the performance and efficiency of urban systems and services. Fast construction can also enhance the resilience and sustainability of urban environments by incorporating green features and materials that reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions, waste generation, and water usage.

Boosting the Economy

Fast construction can boost India's economy by creating new jobs, stimulating innovation, and attracting investments. Fast construction can generate employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers across various sectors, such as manufacturing, engineering, architecture, design, and logistics. Fast construction can also foster innovation and entrepreneurship by encouraging the adoption and development of new technologies and solutions to improve the quality and efficiency of construction processes and products. Fast construction can also attract investments from domestic and foreign sources to support the growth and expansion of the construction industry and related sectors.

Conclusion

Fast construction is a key driver for building a future-ready India to meet its urbanisation challenges and achieve its development goals. By leveraging fast construction technologies, methods, and materials, India can shape its urban landscape in a fast, affordable, high-quality, inclusive, smart, resilient, and sustainable way. The rise of prefabricated buildings, 3D printing, high-grade materials, modular construction, etc., in India promise a new era of rapid real estate development that will transform the future readiness of the country in many ways.