Message from the Chairman (CIDC) ……………..

Let me, at the outset, express my warm sentiments to the newly elected members of the Board of Governors of CIDC for the term 2005-07, who have shown confidence in my continued association with CIDC as the Chairman. I must thank our Patron, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, for nominating me as the Chairman, CIDC, for the term 2005-07. Accepting this onerous responsibility with all  humility, I wish to dedicate myself to the rapid growth and development of CIDC as the Apex body of the Indian Construction Industry. To achieve this, we all have to work together, as one team. I am sure each one of us will have full opportunity to do this and take CIDC to further heights.


CIDC would be organizing it's 8th Convention on Construction during 20th - 22nd October, 2005 at New Delhi. The Convention would have parallel seminars focusing on various sectors and regions, Details are given in this Newsletter. This is a truly mega event which would deliberate on Infrastructure Development in various sector and regions. I look forward to the active involvement and participation of all the stake holders to make the Convention a great success.

It is heartening to see that CIDC has embarked on several new initiatives to expand its ambit of activities. CIDC has tied up with SIAC to start an International Arbitration Centre. For this Centre several persons have been empanelled as arbitrators and the stage is set for the functioning of the Centre. CIDC has also expanded its vocational training programmes following good response. CIDC owes its success to the support it has received from the Government and the Industry, which I am sure, will continue in future.

Uddesh Kohli

From the Desk of the Director General ……

CIDC's 8th Convention on Construction would be organized during 20th - 22nd October, 2005 at New Delhi. It will be a mega event wherein eleven parallel seminars shall be organized focusing on Infrastructure Development in various sectors and regions. Details are given elsewhere in this newsletter. I look forward to an excellent participation which help to forge an Agenda for Action,
which would benefit the Industry in particular and the Nation in general.

CIDC is also embarking upon organizing "World Conference on IT in Design & Construction" in 2006 which would deliberate on latest issues related to technology, to provide an excellent platform for upgradation of the Industry. Details about the Conference are also provided in this Newsletter.

I am happy to inform you, dear readers the Co-operation Agreement with SIAC has had to the formulation of CIDC-SIAC International Arbitration Centre. This provides a truly world-class dispute resolution centre, which would be of immense use in the era of globalization of economies.

P R Swarup

Shri G V Ramakrishna, to be conferred upon the Degree of Doctor of Science
(Honoris Causa)

Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal, M.P. has decided to confer upon Shri G V Ramakrishna the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) during the third convocation of the University on August 7th 2005. The award is in recognition of Shri G V Ramakrishna's contribution to the development & growth of Science & Technology

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CIDC & Building Construction Authority (BCA), Republic of Singapore, enters into a Memorandum of Cooperation

Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) & Building Construction Authority (BCA) entered into a Cooperation Agreement on 11th April 2005, New Delhi to jointly work for their respective Construction Industry. Mr Cedric Foo, Hon’ble Minister of State for Defence and National Development, Government of Singapore graced the occasion among several other eminent dignitaries.

BCA was established by the Ministry of National Development of the Government of the Republic of Singapore with the mission to develop an advanced & competitive Construction Industry. BCA has done pioneering work in export promotion, introduction of good work practices, quality assurance & management systems & HRD schemes.

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8th National Convention on Construction : “Development of Physical Infrastructure – A Synergic Approach”

This year CIDC would be organizing a major convention on construction. The convention is scheduled during 20-22 Oct. 2005 at India Habitat Center, New Delhi with the main theme as “Development of Physical Infrastructure – A Synergic Approach”. As the Construction Industry spans over several sectors & regions there would be eleven parallel seminars on the following themes.

• Strategies in Global Consultancy Development
• Infrastructure Development in Railways Sector
• Infrastructure Development in Maritime Construction
• Infrastructure Development in Power and Petroleum Sectors
• Infrastructure Development in Healthcare Sector
• Defence Infrastructure Development in Nation Building
• Infrastructure Development in heartland states of U.P, Rajasthan, M.P, Uttranchal & Chattisgarh
• Indian Construction Industry Synergy with U.K & Singapore
• Indo-US joint Symposium
• Infrastructure Development in Highways and Civil Aviation Sectors
• Development in Housing and Civic Infrastructure

Over and above these eleven parallel sessions, there will be a Plenary Session for which, we would be requesting Hon'ble Prime Minister of India to grace the occasion as Chief Guest and inaugurate the Conference. Hon'ble Dy Chairman of Planning Commission, Govt. of India, being the Patron of CIDC, would be requested to preside over the function. Several other senior Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of Partner States and other foreign dignitaries would be requested to grace various Seminars. The Convention and Exposition are expected to be attended by close to 2000 VIPs, dignitaries, guests and delegates.

The Objective of the convention are:

• To streamline sector specific bidding, contracting and dispute resolution systems through harmonization.
• To address the issues related to HR and deliberate on the strategy for development of sector specific initiatives.
• To sensitize the participants about the challenges and opportunities posed by WTO/GATS implementation.
• To focus on the financial aspects and cost impediments in Industry with reference to warranties, insurance and risks.
• To synergize the systems and procedures of Indian Construction Industry with Global trends and treaties.

To enable show-casing wide ranging products & services related to the Construction Industry, an exposition is also being organized concurrent to the event. Apart from the participation by Indian Companies, major participation is expected from CIDC’s foreign network partners like members of Asia Construct & Asian Forum (consisting of apex organizations of all major Asian economics), Asian Concrete & Construction Institute, Michigan State University, US & Glasgow Caledonian University, UK and its supporting industry constituents.

Enquiry

Participants and delegates wishing to register for the 8th National Convention on Construction may contact:
Mr. P R Swarup, Director General
Construction Industry Development Council
Ph: 91-11-26433709, 26489992, 26234770, 26451766, 51617971
Fax :91-11-26451604/ 26234770
e-mail : cidc@vsnl.com, cidcindia@vsnl.net, cidcindia@yahoo.com
URL : www.cidcindia.net www.cidc.in

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INCITE/ ITCSED 2006 Conference - “World Conference on IT in Design & Construction”, 15-17 November 2006.

Construction Industry Development Council, is organizing the “World Conference on IT in Design & Construction”. Co-organizers of the Conference are Glasgow Caledonian University, UK, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and University of Salford, UK. This Conference is a unique combination of INCITE, last held in 2004 in Malaysia and ITCSED, last held in 1996 in UK. This Conference aims to maintain, and also to build upon the success of the previous Conference of INCITE 2004 & ITCSED, 1996 with an intended focus on the innovative and technological aspects of project management.

CIDC is inviting His Excellency the President of India to inaugurate the Conference. The Conference is expected to be graced by Senior officials of Central & State Government, their Ministries and departments, relating to infrastructure development like housing, airports, roads & highways, shipping, power and oil etc.

The Conference will bring together, leading global planers in the fields of application of IT in Construction and cutting-edge ideas in design, relating to IT in Structural Engineering Design. The objective is to review the existing status and refine the roadmap for the future. This would help relevant companies and organizations to plan their product orientation and investment policies going forward. At the same time, the dissemination of information, coupled with the deliberation on of recent developments would enable the companies, in understanding and implementing methodologies and concepts which are developed in recent times.

This International Conference will be graced by several prominent figures from the International Construction and IT industries who will present papers on the trends of Information Technology and innovative IT solutions in construction. This is bound to enhance the 'utility value' of this Conference to a great extent.

Themes of the Conference

The Plenary Sessions will focus and deliberate on the following themes:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Nano Technology
• GIS / GPS
• Robotics / Robotronics
• WAN for Project Management / Resource optimization
• e-Governance
• e-Scheduling / Planning & Supply Chain Management
• Surveillance systems
• Disaster Preparedness
• Financing & accounting
• Regulatory mechanisms on-line

In view of the many significant opportunities, INCITE / ITCSED 2006 will interest cross section construction professionals like :

• Architectural and Engineering Firms
• Design/Construct Firms
• Quantity Surveying Firms

And Construction Industry Players like :

• Project Owners
• Project Managers
• IT Managers
• Building Services Engineers
• Builders
• Operation and Maintenance Managers
• Academicians
• Students

Along with :

• Planners in the Central & State Governments
• Project owners including Ministries, Departments and Public Sector Undertakings of Government involved with Information Technology or Construction.

Speakers

A group of eminent keynote and theme speakers will address aspects various focal points of the conference themes. These prominent professionals are :

Keynote Speakers:

• “ IT in Design and Construction - A Chinese Perspective“ - by Mr. Jackson Cheung, Executive Director & Vice President, China State Construction Engineering (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong.
• “ IT in large Capital Projects - European View” - by Prof. Joao Bento, Executive Director (IT), Brisa Corporation, Lisbon, Portugal.
• “IT in Design - An Academic Perspective” - by Prof. John Gero, Sydney University, Australia.
• “IT in Construction – A mixed academic-industrial perspective” – by Prof. Peter Brandon, Pro VC, Salford University, UK.
• “4D Planning in Construction ” – by Prof. Martin Fischer, Stanford University, USA.
• “ Topic” to be decided
  Mr. G. V. Ramakrishna
  Chairman Emeritus,
  Construction Industry Development Council

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Curtain Raiser for the INCITE / ITCSED 2006 Conference - "World Conference on IT in Design & Construction", 15-17 November 2006.

A curtain raiser was organized by CIDC on 30th June, 2005 at New Delhi and was attended by several professionals from the Construction Industry. Speaking on the occasion Shri B. Majumdar, Director General, CPWD, said that CPWD and the Government would welcome and support all initiatives which encourage introduction and assimilation of futuristic technologies in Construction Industry.

Professor Bimal Kumar, an internationally acclaimed expert and Professor of IT in Design & Construction, spoke at length about the marvelous tools of IT which had been developed and many more which were being developed for the Construction Industry. Artificial Intelligence and Nano Technology were only some of the new initiatives set to transform construction systems and materials in the near future.

An impressive presentation on 5D Technologies was also made by Mr. Bence Dudar of Graphisoft Ltd., Hungary, during the Curtain Raiser. The event attracted eminent luminaries from Construction, Banks, Financial Institutions & other service providers.

The event attracted by eminent luminaries representing construction companies, banks, financial institutions & other service providers in the field of construction.

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The CIDC-SIAC Arbitration Centre & Workshop on International Arbitration.

Under the aegis of CIDC-SIAC Arbitration Centre, an interactive Workshop was organized during 13–15 June, 2005 at Hotel Radisson, New Delhi for interaction with SIAC on the systems to be followed in the new Arbitration Centre.

The primary focus of the center would be on developing and maintaining the eligibility criteria and Code of Ethics of Arbitrators, especially in highly specialized Arbitration required in fields like Construction Industry. The Singapore Model (adapted to Indian laws) is being adapted for the Centre.

An important aspect of SIAC’s rules is time-bound completion of the Arbitration process. Since the Arbitrators would be accountable to the Centre on that aspect, a great degree of discipline of time is expected to be observed, as is usual in international practice.

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Construction Workers Training Programme:

The following Construction Workers Training / Certification programmes were organized by CIDC in recent past:

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Executive Development Programmes (EDPs)

• HR Management and Communication Skills on 12-13, May 2005 at Radisson Hotel, New Delhi.
• Legal Aspects of Personnel Management on 19-20, May 2005 at Radisson Hotel, New Delhi.
• Managing Construction Quality & Safety on 20-21, May 2005 at Hotel Amar, Bhopal.
• Awareness Workshop on Understanding the concept of Grading System on 30th June 2005 at Maharani Palace, Jaipur.
• IT in Healthcare on 15-16 April 2005 at Radisson Hotel, New Delhi.
• Under Construction Workers Training Program Gramin Vikas Trust (Ratlam, Banswara, Dahod & Jhabwa) on 13 June, 2005 & 7th - 10th July, 2005 .

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Singing of Memorandum of Co-operation with International Council of Consultants (ICC), International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) & Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC)

International Council of Consultants (ICC) is registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and is the prime institution to represent the interest of Advisors and Consultants related to provision of services arising towards, but not limited to, Infrastructure Development in the country, with a focus on the issues related to Dispute resolution, and it has, in order to fulfil its main mandate, enabled the Construction Industry to introduce Good Work Practices, and several other activities.

International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) is registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, for the promotion and development of ADR facilities and techniques for the settlement of domestic and international commercial disputes and other disputes and is working as an autonomous organization under the aegis of the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India.

Recognizing the vital role of providing easy access to Justice, outside the judicial system at less cost and speed and promoting infrastructure development in the National Economic Development and keeping in view the common activities, ICC, ICADR & CIDC have decided to co-operate to synergize the work being done by them and to enter into a Memorandum of Co-operation on 15th June, 2005.

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Engineering Diploma Program for Construction Industry Personnel

CIDC - IGNOU Engineering Diploma Programme is being launched from January, 2006 in the following two disciplines:

• Civil & Construction Engineering

• Electrical & Mechanical Engineering

The programme shall be launched in distance learning mode with Centres at Kolkatta, Chennai, Pune, Roorkee, Delhi & Gurgaon. The registration of candidates is going on and may be obtained from CIDC office, New Delhi. An orientation programme in the form of Pre-Diploma course is commencing from 03 October, 2005 for six weeks to prepare the candidate for entrance test to be held in December, 2005