Infra development to facilitate $5 trn economy: Gadkari

Visakhapatnam: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said top priority being attached by the Central Government to infrastructure development will make the job easy for making India a $5 trillion economy.

He addressed in virtual mode to the concluding ceremony of two-day business conclave Vriddhi 3.0 organised by Indian Institute of Visakhapatnam-Visakhapatnam on Sunday evening.

Vriddhi 3.0 is an innovative and synergistic platform in virtual mode, witnessed by well-known experts from diverse industries across the country discussing the theme "product first or consumer first-what the future looks like." Gadkari emphasised the importance of well-developed infrastructure for enhancing the level of economic activity and creating an inclusive ecosystem. He spoke on how robust infrastructure can play an important role in fulfilling the vision of India in becoming a $5 trillion economy. He added that India is ready to adopt the world's best technology without compromising quality, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

The Minister also emphasised the importance of youngsters working at the grassroots level in developing cost-effective sustainable global solutions that will help in the development of rural and tribal areas and advised the students to convert problems into opportunities with commercially viable solutions and the need for application of knowledge and skill sets that MBA graduates possess, in contributing to the planning, implementation and management of infrastructure projects. The event also witnessed an intriguing panel discussion on 'prioritising products or consumers', which was moderated by Prof. Amit Shankar, assistant professor of marketing, IIMV. Dr Varun Jain, Associate Director-Marketing at Cipla discussed the role of semantics in making a consumer product. He further described that

the feedback cycle of product development is getting shorter because of technology and innovative techniques and how this is helping companies to come up with products that meet the expectations of the market.

Vipul Oberoi , Director Marketing at Dun and Bradstreet, India emphasised the importance of understanding, articulating, anticipating, and then ultimately presenting the product to the consumer. He added that the market research gives cues and not answers, and the smartest companies are those which anticipate future needs from these cues.

Shobhit Mohan, VP (Marketing) at PayU, another panel member recommended keeping the product at highest priority. This will enable the company to build the most innovative product for the customers and have sustainable competitive advantage. He added that every company has data but those that interpret this data and integrate it with their product will enjoy the major share of the market. Ashok VK, Marketing Head (Oncology & Hospibiz at Dr Reddy Laboratories emphasised having a good product and investing more in product research rather than the customer, as a good product always results in its purchase by the customers.