Impact of Swachh Bharat Program on Earthmoving and Construction Equipment Segment
Announced on October 2, 2014 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swachh Bharat Program is one of the most important campaigns started by the present government to make India neat and clean. Government has undertaken a number of initiatives under this program.
One of the most important objectives of this campaign is to get rid of open defecation in India through the construction of individual, cluster and community toilets. The government is aiming to achieve an open-defecation free India by October 2, 2019. Huge amount has been sanctioned in the Union budget for the program. Lets’ take a look...
1. The total allocation for Swachh Bharat Program in Budget 2017-18 is Rs 16,248 crores.
2. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) which implements the program has been allocated Rs 20,011 crore in the Union Budget 2017.
3. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has two sub-missions—SBM (Rural) and SBM (Urban) and budgetary provisions for both of them are provided separately through the MDWS and the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) respectively.
4. The SBM (Rural) has been allocated Rs 13,948.27 crore in 2017-18.
With the given sanctions and schemes, the Swachh Bharat Program is touted to get a major boost in the coming year. Owing to the major importance given to the campaign, municipalities and civic bodies are definitely focussing more on improving the cleanliness and sanitation facilities in different areas. This is leading to huge demand for Earthmoving and Construction Equipment (ECE) which are very much required to attain the above goals as the bulk handling of solid waste and construction of large number of toilets and public washrooms is possible only with these machines.
Impact on ECE segment
The Swachh Bharat Program is leading to creation of more number of toilets and better sanitation facilities. The State Government is also encouraging Gram Panchayats to build more toilets in their respective villages. In fact, according to surveys and reports, already thousands of toilets have been built and there are plans to build many more. To be precise, nearly 3,88,49,539 toilets have been built since the inception of the campaign, to encourage good sanitation practices. Now, for the construction of public washrooms and infrastructure development, there is always the need for various things including ECE. Thus, the campaign is directly impacting the ECE industry’s growth.
Another fact is that the government is aiming to end open-defecation system by the end of the year 2019, so the construction of toilets has to be carried out quickly. So, a large number of ECE will be required very soon. Hence, it is quite obvious that the Clean India Mission is certainly going to increase the demand of ECE.
Impact on backhoe loaders segment
Typically, the campaign has given a boost to the backhoe loaders segment in the ECE category. Backhoe loaders are extremely versatile equipment that are specifically designed to work in a variety of applications. These machines also hold the potential to be an ideal machine for solid waste management applications.
Mahindra Construction Equipment’s EarthMaster Backhoe Loader comes with a vast array of attachments like auger, forklift, dozer blade, standard loader bucket, high-tip bucket, six-in-one bucket etc., which makes the machine suitable for many applications. With the mechanical quick-hitch, one can easily switch between the vast ranges of attachments and can perform an array of jobs with utmost ease and comfort.
Not only the backhoe loader buying activity has increased since the launch of the campaign but the equipment rental market is also soaring high in the country. Increasingly, companies and contractors are hiring the BHLs to carry out the task of construction more public washrooms in urban as well as rural areas.
Here again, Mahindra EarthMaster backhoe loaders have an edge over the others as they offer...
1. High fuel efficiency
2. Huge savings as trained, competent and experienced manpower resources come with the equipment.
3. Savings on storage/warehousing cost as the equipment can be returned after the work is done.
4. 24*7 service support service to reduce the downtime.
5. REMOTECARE feature which greatly eases equipment tracking.
In a nutshell
It goes without saying the Swachh Bharat Mission has given a major boost to the ECE segment and it will continue to do so for the next couple of years. The Swachh Bharat Mission has greatly helped in increasing the profitability of the ECE segment. Not just profitability; it has also provided a means of more employment.
Thus, it can be safely concluded that the Swachh Bharat program is a boon for the ECE segment. It has not only helped in reviving the industry, but it has also helped in increasing the revenues generated by the segment.
