With the demand for excavators growing in the market, OEMs are introducing new features to further improve the efficiency and productivity of the machines, helping in quick and qualitative project execution.

Rs 1.2 trillion investment in roads and highways; extension of 3.17 lakh km of rural roads; 35,000 km highway construction under Bharatmala Pariyojana scheme- it seems that there is a lot slated to happen in the coming years in rural roads and highways.

Asphalt paver market is likely to flourish in the coming years as more rural roads and highways are in the offing. The Budget 2018-19 has major focus on extension of 3.17 lakh km of rural roads which are largely asphalt roads.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded one of the five packages of Dwarka Expressway project in Haryana to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) under the Bharatmala project, according to the government.

KNR Constructions has won a Rs 1,021-crore highway project from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Tamil Nadu. The company has secured its first Hybrid Annuity Project (HAM) with bid project cost of Rs 1,020.60 crore from NHAI for the work of four-laning of Trichy to Kallagam section of NH-227.

Infrastructure development has been one of the top priorities of the Union Budget 2018-19 presented by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitely in Parliament on February 1. Major investments and allocations are in roads, railways and rural development including agriculture and rural economy. Urban infrastructure development has also received a boost with the allocation for Smart Cities mission.

Backhoe loader is the front-runner among the infrastructure equipment used in the country with almost 50 per cent of the market share in number of unit.

Budget 2018-19 rang in on 1st February for the second consecutive year in history. The budgetary expenditure on infrastructure for 2018-19 is being enhanced by Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 5.97 lakh crore against an estimated expenditure of Rs 4.94 lakh crore in 2017-18.

The Indian infrastructure sector is not slowing down anytime soon, given the government initiatives and market demand. This makes it a feasible environment for the growth of construction equipment, writes Andy Dhanaraj, Director - Sales, Caterpillar India.