Building India’s next construction equipment boom

The Minister for Heavy Industries, H D Kumaraswamy, highlighted the need for India's domestic construction equipment manufacturing sector to reduce its reliance on imports during the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association's annual session in 2026. Kumaraswamy noted that the domestic industry is the third-largest globally, behind only China and the United States, with a market size of approximately Rs 97,500 crore in fiscal 2024-25.

He announced that the Budget 2026-27 had introduced a scheme to boost the manufacturing of critical construction and infrastructure equipment, aiming to strengthen the domestic supply chain and decrease excessive import dependence. The minister indicated that the scheme will be approved soon, as inter-ministerial consultations are currently underway.

Kumaraswamy further projected that the industry could expand to a market size of around Rs 2,28,000 crore by fiscal 2029-30. Despite a slight decline in total equipment sales in fiscal 2026 due to slower infrastructure execution (down by 2% from fiscal 2025), exports saw a strong 32% growth. The industry association forecasted that the sector would return to growth in fiscal 2027, fueled by the Centre's ongoing support through a public capital expenditure of Rs 12.2 lakh crore, faster project execution, and the implementation of the construction equipment manufacturing scheme.