Infrastructure Quarterly

Our Vision & Mission

Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management (PLIIM) is established within the Indian School of Business as a specialist Institute for infrastructure. The institute has the MIT Sloan School of Management as its associate partner. The vision and mission of the institute are:

Vision

To create high-quality leadership and management capacity for the infrastructure sector and understand the sustainability dimensions impacting the industry by delivering quality education, contextual research, and continuous outreach.

Mission
  • Create top-quality educational and training programmes
  • Facilitate learning through online programmes
  • Undertake research that is contextual to India and other developing countries
  • Develop tools and decision support systems to support the infrastructure practice
  • Undertake continuous outreach to support the sector
  • Serve as a “Go to” place for the infrastructure sector in India and abroad.

The Punj Lloyd Institute undertakes various initiatives to guide the infrastructure sector towards efficient and sustainable development through research initiatives, knowledge-sharing events, public officials, and industry professionals’ training. It has already developed a smart-cities index and digitalisation index. The institute works closely with corporates in education and research, to meet its vision. A brief on various activities of the institutes is given below.

Research

Electric vehicle roadmap for upscaling in India

The PLIIM worked on a research project related to India’s electric vehicle roadmap. The project involves the following:

  • To identify challenges related to charging infrastructure and possible future roadblocks
  • To list out the government’s steps to ensure smooth roll-out of charging infrastructure on a pan India basis
  • To layout the global charging infrastructure scenario.
Choice of Electric Vehicles for Study

In this study, we chose personal vehicles such as cars and two-wheelers under electric vehicles. Based on the available models of cars, only mini, micro, and compact sedan segment for cars were considered. For two-wheelers variants running both on li-ion and the lead-acid battery have been considered. We have not considered sales and production E-buses and E 3-wheelers in our study. The study focusses on electric mobility concerning the Indian context.

Factors not considered in the research are:

  • Technical analysis of electric vehicle and battery specifications (Li-ion & Lead Acid) are not in the scope of this report
  • Harmonics, electrical power systems and grid integrity technical analysis are not in the scope of this report
  • The total cost of ownership including CAPEX and OPEX revenue model is not considered in the study
  • Battery Management System (BMS) and vehicle to grid research consider the business side of the implementation, technical feasibility is not considered in the study.
Research Methodology

The study involved primary and secondary research in understanding electric mobility in India.

Primary research
  • We attended online seminars to understand BMS, vehicle to grid integration, charging standards and get an overall understanding of the industry
  • We also conducted interviews with industry experts for understanding the technological and policy-related aspects of electric vehicles.
Secondary research
  • Policy research: For analyzing the policy framework, we obtained data from various sources such as Rocky Mountain Institute, India Smart Grid Forum, and different government department websites
  • Market dynamics: For analysis on sales, we obtained data from sources such as BMI Research, Frost & Sullivan, Euromonitor International, EMIS Insights, Hindu Business line, etc.
DND Flyway and Comparison with other Road Contract Form

DND Flyway was the first toll bridge project developed and operated through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model which was at its infancy in India. Considerable interest was generated when the celebrated project landed in trouble years after it began operations. The issues of contention went beyond tolls and included processes of planning and development.

This was the motivation behind the institute’s interest in a detailed case study.
We started research work for topics including but not limited to the following: PPP Road BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) Concession Agreements – assessing the PPP road concession agreements for domestic and international projects

  • Reviewing project backdrop
  • Understanding bid parameters and financial details
  • Evaluating stakeholder experience
  • Appraising financial and operational risks considered before and after the project commissioning
  • Studying the legal and regulatory risks if any.

Education

Advanced Management Programme for Infrastructure (AMPI)

ISB’s “Advanced Management Programme for Infrastructure” has been specifically designed for working professionals to help them develop leadership skills and contribute to the growth of the infrastructure and real estate sector. The programme has the right balance of theory and practice and is ideally suited to meet the aspirations of the growing professional community in infrastructure and real estate. Participants also get an opportunity to deploy their classroom learning in real-life scenarios through Action Learning Projects.

AMPI Co2021

The AMPI Co2021 had 25 participants having average experience of 12.5 years. Students came from leading public and private enterprises and had different sectoral exposure. We had students from American Express, KPMG, Amazon, Livspace, Western Railways, Maharashtra Steel, DLF Home Developers, Aequs Aerospace., etc.

The fourth residency of the cohort was successfully completed in the period 23-28 October 2021. The students also had an additional make-up residency on 10-11 December 2021 at the Hyderabad campus. They had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of digital trends through speaker sessions with industry leaders. A networking dinner with the alumni of AMPI and AMPMO was also organized and much appreciated by all.

Action Learning Projects
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The Action Learning Project (ALP) is an essential pedagogical tool that is designed to give participants a chance to deploy their classroom learning in real-life scenarios. It is a group exercise executed under a mentor/guide from ISB. Participants have the option of bringing in a live project from the organisation where they are currently employed or can bid for projects from other organisations.

Understanding the facets of the scheme Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) initiated by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) are listed projects with a mix of atleast 40 Dwelling Units (DUs) and Dormitories along with basic civic infrastructure facilities such as water, sanitation, sewerage/septage, road, electricity along with necessary social/commercial infrastructure for urban migrant/poor of EWS/LIG categories.
The ALP team attempted a holistic understanding of AHRC in terms of principles and objectives, various models, approach, structure, and implementation. Based on their understanding of stakeholders and their limitations they developed a multi-criteria framework for an AHRC model. They have also analysed the financial viability of such a model. The project report will propose the key considerations required by public and private sectors to make AHRC a successful initiative.

Identification of a suitable financial model for round-the-clock (RTC) hybrid renewable energy projects

The total installed generation capacity in India is about 392 Gigawatt (GW) as of November 2021. The share of renewable power (from solar, wind, small hydro, and waste to energy) is 26.5% and 12% from large Hydro. Currently, India is generating a power of about 150GW through renewable (RE) power. Further, India has set a target of 450 GW of installed capacity from renewable energy sources by 2030. Visionary leadership is supported by investor friendly business initiatives in the recent past to promote the renewable energy sector in India. There is a heavy competition between players during procurement process to RE power projects. The ALP group has studied the benefits, challenges and opportunities in the future of RTC hybrid renewable energy projects and developed an optimistic financial model suitable for such projects.

The team has reviewed various government initiatives, understood the current financial trends and reviewed scenarios for hybrid power plants. They have engaged with industry experts and validated a financial model for one scenario.

Scaling of Real-Estate Companies: Growth perspectives

Real-estate sector contributes around 13% to India's GDP which is expected to reach USD one trillion by 2030. The broad scope of the sector is providing housing and infrastructure to meet the upcoming needs of the people.

The ALP group adopted the strategy to analyse the current market trend of Real-estate companies by studying their past 10 years performance records.

They conducted a detailed market survey of 41 real estate companies and compared their growth trends. They have prepared an extensive database that helps them in analysing and comparing company performances. The comparative analysis has provided insights on issues facing the infrastructure industry and their impact on the growth performance of companies.

Creating a Sustainable Bus Stop Design for Public Infrastructure

Public infrastructure holds utmost importance in the urban transportation system of a city as any city functions well when the public transportation system works efficiently. One emphasis of the public transport system is to reduce citizens’ overwhelming dependency on private vehicles to make urban transportation sustainable and durable.

Buses are the prime mode of public transport in India. However the country lacks the basic bus infrastructure facilities. Amenities like seating, roof, electricity supply, bus route display boards, lighting, toilets are lacking in various city bus stops.

The team conducted extensive research to identify the reasons for the poor bus stop designs in the country. They did secondary research and surveyed commuters to identify the requirements of a bus stop. They developed a universally acceptable bus stop design in accordance with their design strategy, passengers’ needs, and design parameters. They have further created a business model for revenue generation. The ALP team aims to transform the present standard bus stops into modular, lean, smart, universally accessible, and sustainable bus stops that can be adaptable in any city in India.

Leadership Development Program

The Centre for Executive Education (CEE) at ISB seeks to empower executives with the knowledge and capabilities required to continually navigate complex disruptive environments, create and renew the competitive advantage of their firms over time, and contribute more to society. As a part of the leadership development initiatives, Powergrid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) conducts various interventions for its leadership team. POWERGRID recognizes that a comprehensive learning experience is pivotal for excellence and is paramount to achieving its vision. This transformation is necessary to move the business forward and deliver the next level of growth and customer experience.

PLIIM, ISB’s infrastructure institute, is collaborating with CEE for a leadership development initiative at POWERGRID. POWERGRID is globally one of the leading transmission companies with 172,192 ckm transmission lines and approximately 264 substations. The company has the vision to be a world-class, integrated, global transmission company with dominant leadership in emerging power markets ensuring reliability, safety, and economy. ISB’s leadership program will challenge participants to understand how to unlock their potential and create extraordinary value for their business. In this program, the Action Learning Projects (ALPs) will be an important pedagogical tool to allow senior executives to deploy their learning (both within and outside the classroom) in real-life scenarios. ALPs will be a group exercise executed under a mentor/guide from ISB.

Some of the problems that the executives are likely to address are:

  • Predictive Maintenance System for Transmission Assets in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution: POWERGRID is an asset-intensive organization. In recent years, we have seen increased interest in predictive maintenance of assets leveraging IoT, cloud, and analytics.
  • Quantifying digital leadership capabilities at POWERGRID: This project would involve administering scientific tools to understand the current level of ‘digital leadership’ and develop a plan to enhance the same.
  • Building digital supply chain: This project would involve understanding digital continuity across the supply chain and making specific recommendations to improve.
  • Creating innovation culture within POWERGRID: This project would involve understanding the current innovation culture within POWERGRID and making recommendations to accelerate the innovation process.
  • Exception-based project management: Time and cost overruns of projects are often attributed to both external and internal factors. This project would involve studying the historical data of different projects and identifying the causes of delays and cost overruns. One deliverable of the project will be to develop a data-driven risk mitigation strategy for managing future projects.
Faculty Masterclass by Professor AJ Chauradia

Topic: E-Vehicle Infrastructure: A use case of Tesla Professor AJ Chauradia took an online session on E-Vehicle Infrastructure for the potential students of the Advanced Management Programme for Infrastructure. The session evoked a healthy response with more than 120 attendees.

  • Professor Chauradia spoke of the business model of Tesla and their leveraging of the e-vehicle infrastructure for popularising their cars.
  • He discussed the fact that e-vehicles can become a disruptive force only when the charging infrastructure is cheap, fast, and ubiquitous.
  • He drew lessons from his research on e-vehicle infrastructure and opined on their potential success in the Indian market
  • He deliberated on the various types of challenges in infrastructure that are likely to come up.

Prof Chauradia spoke of his teaching at ISB, and how he incorporates his research findings/outcomes in the curriculum of the program. An alumna of the program, Ms. Hrydal Damani, also spoke and highlighted the Indian Government’s stance towards e-vehicles.

Speaker Session by Mr. Rohit Chandak

Topic: Infrastructure Finance: Brief overview and market trends Mr. Rohit Chandak, CFO at Ayana Renewable Power addressed 51 attendees on the topic of 'Infrastructure Finance: Brief Overview and Market Trends' on 21 Dec 2021.
Mr. Chandak spoke from his extensive experience on the following aspects:

  • High-level understanding of infrastructure finance
  • Infrastructure investment decision making
  • Current market trends & updates.
Speaker Session by Mr. Kamesh Rao

Topic: Digital transformation in infrastructure industry Mr Kamesh Rao, CEO, GMR Airport Developers Limited, the force behind the construction of the Hyderabad airport, spoke about ‘Digital Transformation in Infrastructure Industry.’ He brought out the key hurdles in adopting technology for an airport setup and the technologies currently being used.

Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management

Indian School of Business, Knowledge City,
Sector 81, Mohali 140306.