Team Members:

• Husain Millwala
• Mangesh Dere
• Bharat Anand
• Mohammed Yousuf Aman Arif
• Rambabu Boorugu
• Saransh Agrawal

Synopsis:

This Action Learning Project explores how digitalization can expedite infrastructure projects in India’s remote regions by addressing persistent delays caused by poor monitoring, fragmented logistics, and lack of real-time data. Drawing from national audit reports, global best practices, and stakeholder interviews, the study develops a digital framework using tools like BIM, GIS, IoT, and cloud dashboards to enable real-time progress tracking, material flow management, and transparent decision-making. The framework will be validated through simulation, demonstrating improvements in schedule adherence, resource utilization, and stakeholder engagement. Integrating technology into project execution can reduce timelines by up to 30%, enhance cost efficiency, and support replicability across sectors like border roads, railways, and disaster-relief infrastructure. The project recommends policy-level mandates for digital monitoring, training for engineers, and incentives for tech adoption to ensure scalable and sustainable improvements in India’s infrastructure delivery systems. The model emphasizes the need for real-time data pipelines and predictive analytics to proactively manage delays. It also highlights the benefits of augmented reality for site-level training and monitoring, especially in challenging terrains. Interviews revealed strong support among younger field staff, though digital literacy remains a barrier for some stakeholders. With modular design and open-source tools, the solution is both cost-effective and customizable. Ultimately, this project aligns with India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline goals by proposing a transformative shift in how remote infrastructure projects are planned, executed, and governed.

Team Members:

• Aastha Bansal
• Manan Vyas
• Shweta Thakur
• Vishnuvardhan Mothkuri
• K Balaji Viswanath
• Saurabh Pawar

Synopsis:

This Action Learning Project investigates the digital adoption of property technologies (PropTech) by Tier II developers and builders in India, focusing on the cities of Hyderabad and Mumbai. Despite the growing relevance of digital tools in construction—such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins, project management platforms, and AI-based planning, many small to mid-sized developers remain hesitant or slow to adopt them, resulting in inefficiencies, cost overruns, and elongated project timelines. The project aims to understand this digital lag through structured primary and secondary data collection, including a comprehensive questionnaire that will be administered to over 1,000 participants, with a minimum goal of 100 validated responses. The questionnaire captures key variables like the number and type of active projects, the presence of digital innovation roles, current usage of digital tools, integration levels across workflows (e.g., BIM with cost/scheduling tools), and business drivers such as ESG compliance, safety, and talent retention. Additional questions explore the awareness and implementation of 4D/5D BIM, AI tools, and common data environments (CDEs). Parallelly, technology service providers will be surveyed to gauge subscription trends, renewal behavior, and customization flexibility. Using platforms like Qualtrics for analysis, the responses were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative assessments, including statistical tests such as the T-test to validate hypotheses about technology adoption patterns. The study hypothesizes that lack of awareness, perceived cost barriers, and absence of internal tech teams are key deterrents for digital transformation. It identifies a fragmented landscape where only a minority of Tier II developers use integrated platforms, and most rely on manual site updates and siloed communication tools. However, the survey also highlights a growing interest in adopting PropTech solutions that improve efficiency, reduce project timelines, and offer competitive advantages in attracting investors and buyers. The project proposes an implementation roadmap that includes training programs, government-led incentives, modular software models, and industry partnerships to encourage digital onboarding. Furthermore, it suggests creating digital starter packs tailored to small developers’ needs and budgets, alongside an industry-wide awareness campaign. By bridging the gap between technological potential and actual usage, this study contributes to accelerating the digital maturity of India’s Tier II construction sector, aligning with national goals of urban modernization, sustainable development, and smart infrastructure delivery.

Team Members:

• Aliyavar Gafur Inamdar
• Anshika Sharma
• Mayank Singh
• Naresh Gattupalli
• Prasanth Saraswatula
• Raghvendra Khemka
• Zuwaina Najam

Synopsis:

This Action Learning Project (ALP) investigates the conceptualization, design, and strategic implementation of PropVault, a proposed Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) aimed at transforming real estate and infrastructure governance in India through technology-driven trust, transparency, and efficiency. The real estate and infrastructure sectors in India are plagued by structural inefficiencies such as fragmented regulatory frameworks, cumbersome documentation processes, and the lack of digital access to verified project approvals, particularly affecting RERA compliance, loan disbursals, and stakeholder trust. Homebuyers remain in the dark about real-time project progress and approvals, developers struggle with multi-agency compliance hurdles, and financial institutions face significant documentation delays, resulting in stagnation of capital and delayed project execution. Infrastructure projects under agencies like NHAI, Smart Cities Mission, and PPP models suffer from slow funding approvals due to legacy systems of manual verification, and lack of interoperable data environments. Recognizing this challenge, this ALP followed a structured three-phase methodology. In Phase 1, over 150 documents from sources such as RERA, MeitY, MahaRERA, UDCPR, World Bank, and GovTech/RegTech bodies were studied to identify systemic bottlenecks. Phase 2 focused on problem structuring using pain-point mapping, thematic clustering (e.g., land transparency, ESG scoring), and stakeholder journey mapping. In Phase 3, a digitally scalable solution—PropVault—was conceptualized as a secure, cloud-based, blockchain-backed, trust-layer for digital document storage and verification, allowing seamless interoperability among developers, banks, regulators, and homebuyers. Scientific tools such as SWOT analysis of Maharashtra’s infrastructure governance, PESTEL policy analysis, and ecosystem flowcharts of e-registration, approval systems, and stakeholder workflows were employed to ground insights. Interviews with government officials, developers, fintech players, and urban governance experts enriched the primary data, while secondary inputs came from policy documents, case law, audit findings, and global best practices like the UK Land Registry and Singapore IRAS. The PropVault solution features multiple DPI layers—document digitization, blockchain-based verification, universal access APIs, analytics dashboards, and a “Developer Passport” that stores verified compliance trails. The anticipated impact includes reducing average approval delays by 40%, document verification time by 95%, staff hours per file by 65%, and dramatically increasing investor trust through verified, tamper-proof audit trails. It also aligns with national missions like Gati Shakti, Digital India, and Smart Cities, by enabling frictionless document flows and institutional accountability. Intangibly, PropVault can enhance investor confidence by improving developer creditworthiness, catalyze PropTech and GovTech innovation, and unlock an estimated ₹2 lakh crore currently stuck in inefficient workflows. Major findings highlight how regulatory fragmentation, poor data interoperability, and a lack of a shared trust infrastructure are central to current governance failure. The project advocates that a digital trust layer like PropVault, analogous to how UPI revolutionized fintech, can modernize real estate and infrastructure sectors. The future roadmap includes piloting PropVault across five urban local bodies (ULBs), integrating with state-level infra finance boards to streamline public investment modules, and scaling the platform nationwide by 2028, with extensions possible to water, energy, and mobility sectors. As a strategic DPI initiative, PropVault has the potential to redefine how India governs its most critical urban transformation assets—land, housing, and infrastructure—through a resilient, scalable, and citizen-centric technology backbone.

The Alumni Connect session for the Advanced Management Programme in Infrastructure (AMPI) at ISB brought together program alumni and faculty to share insights with prospective participants. Led by Professor Chandan Chowdhury (Professor of Practice, ISB, and Executive Director, Punj Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management) and Program Lead Pradhyumna, the discussion featured alumni Mr. Prabhat Kumar (Senior Manager, NTPC Green Energy, AMPI Class of 2024), Mr. Vinay (Infrastructure Project Manager, EY, AMPI Class of 2018), Mr. Ashutosh Gautam (Member Technical, IWAI, Ministry of Ports, AMPI Class of 2018), who spoke about their career transitions and how AMPI broadened their leadership perspectives and professional growth. The session addressed key sectoral challenges such as project management gaps, workforce skills, and adoption of new technologies, while also highlighting how the program’s curriculum, action learning projects, and strong alumni network equip professionals to navigate India’s rapidly evolving infrastructure and real estate landscape.