The flagship event InfraBlaze 2023 organized by Infrastructure committee at Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD) on 9th and 10th March witnessed the delegates from public administration and corporate. The event was conducted in the presence of Dr. Netra Neelam, Director, Dr. K Rajagopal, Deputy Director and Dr. Kedar Bhagwat, HOD, MBA – Infrastructure Development and Management at SCMHRD.

The 8th edition of InfraBlaze was themed around ‘India’s Vision For $5 Trillion Economy’. The inaugural ceremony was graced by Municipal Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and CEO PCMC Smart City Ltd. Hon’ Shri. Shekhar Singh. He was the chief guest and keynote speaker for the event. The event commenced by watering the plants followed by felicitation of Hon’ Shri. Shekhar Singh by Director of the institute.

In the keynote speech Hon. Mr. Shekhar Singh spoke about the importance of building public infrastructure and the differences in advancements over the last 20 years, Smart Saarthi app of PCMC, financial aspects and other initiatives by PCMC. He also spoke about PCMC’s environmental initiatives and their support for regional sustainability.

The second session of Day 1 of InfraBlaze at SCMHRD consisted of panel discussion themed around Challenges to Infrastructure Financing. This event was conducted in offline mode at SCMHRD campus. The panelists participated in the session were Mr. Veenu Singla, Chief Executive Officer, Kotak Infrastructure Debt Fund Limited, Mr. Ashok Sharma, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Mr. Ashish Modani, Vice President, ICRA Limited, Ms. Archita Bose, Associate Director, PwC India. The panel discussion was moderated by CA Sunit Joshi, Adjunct Faculty, SCMHRD.

The topics of discussion revolved around in-depth insights of how bonds work and how private sector banks finance infrastructure projects in sectors such as roads, railways, airports, power, and water with debt. The panelists discussed the working of debt market and equity market in infrastructure sector. In addition to this the panel addressed current significant macro trends in the road construction industry and various modes of infrastructure financing. Students got insights on the use of data in project structuring, project strategy, and financial modeling and analysis of building projects.

The second day of InfraBlaze 2023 was in online mode where the dignitaries interacted with the students. In the first session of day 2 of InfraBlaze 2023 Hon. Ms. Shalini Agarwal, Municipal Commissioner, Surat Municipal Corporation and Mr. Nilesh Patel from the office of Municipal Commissioner, Surat Municipal Corporation were present and spoke on ‘Cities of Future.’

Mr. Nilesh Patel addressed various infrastructure services provided to its citizen by Surat Municipal Corporation. He shared various features of the Surat Town Planning Scheme. He provided an overview of the budget allocated to the Surat Municipal Corporation. To integrate education services and improve administration, SMC will be launching a centralized education cell, AI-based attendance system and mobile app for pupil monitoring will be offered.

In the second session of day 2 of InfraBlaze 2023. Ms. Saroj Ayush, Senior Transport Specialist, World Bank Group spoke about the topic ‘Contribution of Transportation Sector in Indian Economy’. This was a highly interactive session which gave valuable insights to the students. The speaker shed a light on the policies that have been implemented to maximize the economic and social effects of transportation provision at the municipal and regional levels need to be looked at. She also emphasized the significance of examining how developments in transportation technologies have affected and will continue to influence future development.

The third session of Day 2 of InfraBlaze involved panel discussion themed around ‘Supply Chain Resilience: The New Necessity’. The panelists for the session were Mr. Saurabh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, GMR Cargo, Mr. Prashant Gazipur, Country Head Operations and Chief Process Officer, Ecom Express, Ms. Pooja Awate, Lead Logistics Solution Manager, West Central Asia, A.P. Moller-Maersk. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Rahul Hiremath, Associate Professor, SCMHRD.

The panelists discussed the significance of the supply chain and the need for resilience in it and how any company that deals with physical goods and items will be extremely dependent on the supply chain as a function. Supply chain management is the only entity that connects the entire world. Panelists gave insights about the advantages of Internet of Things and the Automated Storage System and emphasized on how crucial business ethics are to a company.