EGIS IndiaINTERVIEWS

Mr. Sandeep Gulati, MD- Egis India

Egis declares extensive expertise in delivering major infrastructure development across India. Please state about few major accomplishments done?

Since 1995, we’ve worked closely with government and private operators to support India’s continued development. Together we’ve delivered over 90 successful projects, winning multiple awards.  Egis is an international player active in the consulting, construction engineering and mobility service sectors.

We design and operate intelligent infrastructure and buildings capable of responding to the climate emergency and helping to achieve more balanced, sustainable and resilient territorial development.

With operations in 120 countries, Egis places the expertise of its 18,000 employees at the disposal of its clients and develops cutting-edge innovation accessible to all projects. Through its wide-ranging fields of activity, Egis is a central player in the collective organisation of society and the living environment of citizens all over the world.

We were associated with multiple prestigious projects like Mass Rapid Transit System (Metro) and Semi-High Speed Regional Rail Transit System around Delhi, Sustainable Development of Smart Cities, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for All PMAY projects in Madhya Pradesh; Specialize High Rise Structure like Statue of Unity in Gujarat, National Waterway and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust; Many Expressways, Mumbai Coastal Roads, Swacch Bharat, National green highway, National / State Highways, Rural roads partnering 29 Indian States in various geographical areas; Airports.

Egis in India completed the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP, World Bank funded project)”, an eight-year Technical Assistance and Institutional Strengthening for the Rehabilitation and Improvement of 223 Dams located in seven states in India.

Recently hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has awarded the State of Madhya Pradesh with “2nd Best -Performing State Award” for implementation of PMAY-Urban during Indian Urban Housing Conclave at Rajkot, Gujrat on 19th October 2022. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister MoHUA, GoI awarded Egis India Team with “Best Performing SLTC under PMAY-Urban” in special category Awards. Egis India is the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- HFA (Urban) Madhya Pradesh.

Do you see the government has become more aggressive in terms of infra building?

One of the key verticals fueling India’s ambitious growth story is infrastructure. It is one of the key drivers of the Indian economy. As the country’s overall development is primarily pivoted on its infrastructural prowess, the sector enjoys intense focus from the Government which has been introducing viable policies targeted at ensuring creation of a sustainable world class infrastructure in the country. Government has set aside Rs 111 crore under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for FY2019 – 25, with sectors such as energy, roads, urban and railways amounting to a whopping 71% of the projected infrastructure investment. Additionally, the online “holistic governance” system – PM Gati Shakti connects 16 ministries — such as Roads and Highways, Railways, Shipping, Petroleum and Gas, Power, Telecom, Shipping, and Aviation — with the objective to ensure holistic planning and execution of infrastructure projects, by reducing implementation costs.

How will Gati Shakti help in catalyzing the building and construction of infrastructure projects?

The online “holistic governance” system – PM Gati Shakti – aims to reduce logistics costs and boost the economy with a planned National Infrastructure Pipeline. This digital platform connects 16 ministries — including Roads and Highways, Railways, Shipping, Petroleum and Gas, Power, Telecom, Shipping, and Aviation — with a view to ensure holistic planning and execution of infrastructure projects. The initiative will go a long way in enabling various government departments to synchronize their efforts into a multi-modal network. Also, other Government initiatives such as Asset Monetization Scheme and New Guidelines on Procurement, among others, are currently catapulting the Indian infrastructure space in the right direction.

Business outlook for Egis India?

We are extremely bullish on India. And the group is very strongly behind us. They see India as a very important country and in terms of number of people, we are the largest outside France. That in itself shows the importance attached to India. And the group sees that we have quality manpower that is unmatched in terms of quality and cost.

How are you contributing to the global efforts of developing a smarter, greener world and creating a sustainable future of communities everywhere?

CLIMATE EMERGENCY, our absolute priority. Climate change is at the core of our company’s strategy, « Impact the Future and our work with clients and projects. We have a wide range of engineering services and operational solutions to fight against climate change and biodiversity erosion. During the Covid-19 crisis, Egis Group drew up 21 low-carbon proposals for the economic recovery. In all our fields of work, our engineers develop innovative operational solutions to address specific environmental issues: care for biodiversity, energy efficiency, material recycling, etc. In all engineering services, deployment of eco-design practices. More than 70 solutions for environmental performance are available today, and several have become acknowledged trademarks such as Cycle Up and SeaBoost.

Please state about the CSR policy of the organisation. What are the major contributions?

Our key objective is to place the environment challenges of the 21st century at the center of our business activities and development strategy. The fight against climate change has been a key strategic priority since 2019. Egis has committed to contributing to global carbon neutrality by 2050 and all employees are involved in these commitments. In India we are supporting and actively involved in. ‘Being Responsible’ is one of the core values of Egis. As a Responsible Company, Egis in India, chose to support healthcare, Education and environment and other various activities. At Egis, employees are committed towards supporting environmental, energy, digital and regional transition to help shape the world of tomorrow.

In recent times, we have worked together with Chief Medical officer’s office, Gurugram to set up IT COVID centre. We are also supporting NeeV, a learning centre for the under-served under Bharat Memorial Charitable Trust. We have also initiated project ‘Clean and Green’ by adopting a Green Belt – cleaning it and turning it Green with trees along with our NGO partner, Hara Jeevan and GMDA, Gurugram.

Finally, what are some words of advice that you would like to share with our community on building a future- ready workforce?

In today’s dynamic work environment, the inability to learn and grow can be one of the reasons, employees generally decide to look for a new job. Although, in a post Covid era, the prioritizes have increased and work life balance, uncertainty (not only for job, but, health of near and dear one’s), remote working / hybrid working are also key influences for someone to look out.

The basic thought of you being there with everyone makes the environment positive and feeling of the team increases. Employees’ wellbeing — it has always been important but now it’s at the forefront.