Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, on Tuesday said that the adoption of construction technologies is essential to achieve the target of zero emissions by 2070.
“It is estimated that around 700-900 million square meters of the built environment will be added to Indian cities every year to fully harness the economic potential of Indian cities. The country’s urban rejuvenation is an important facet to transform India into a developed nation by 2047, a key component of which is India’s advocacy for green and climate-resilient infrastructure,” according to Puri who virtually inaugurated the PROPAGATE 2022, a proptech accelerator programme.
Moreover, considering that the built environment produces considerable carbon emissions, which account for almost 39 per cent of the world’s total gross carbon emissions, it is imperative that the construction industry incorporate sustainability principles, said the minister.
Sessions on smart design and planning, smart construction, smart finance and investments, making of proptech unicorns, and challenges for proptech adoption, were among the topics covered at the event.
“The real estate sector has contributed to the growth of Bengaluru. With sustainability being a key focus area today, it is important for the construction sector to focus on technologies that will help reduce the environmental impact caused by increased construction needed for the economic growth of the State. The city has all the ingredients necessary to make it a leader in proptech, not only for India, but for the whole world,” said CN Ashwath Narayan, Minister of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka.
Additionally, the event also saw the launch of two independent studies on climate-conscious construction and demolition waste management and shelter solution for migrant construction workers.
In 2016, the real estate sector invested less than 0.5 per cent of revenue in technology, according to MR Jaishankar, chairman of Brigade Enterprises. “Today, that number has more than doubled, but much more work has to be done. The real estate industry must speed up the adoption of technology, and this is only feasible if we combine our brainpower, motivation, and resources to support cutting-edge technology that boosts efficiency and production while preserving the environment,” he added.