| | JUNE 20209THE INCREASING RATE OF URBANISATION IN RECENT DECADES HAS SEEN AN AUGMENTED TREND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH-RISE AND SUPER-TALL BUILDINGS WORLDWIDE, PARTICULARLY IN THE EMERGING ECONOMIEScomfort, improved lifecycle of buildings and peace of mind for the customers. Innovation is key to sustain the future, and techno-logical disruptions are imperative. The increasing rate of urbanisa-tion in recent decades has seen an augmented trend in the construc-tion of high-rise and super-tall buildings worldwide, particularly in the emerging economies. Sky-scrapers may host offices, residen-tial spaces and retail spaces, and designers are constantly looking to reinvent the modern skyscrap-er with higher, more cutting-edge designs. For buildings above a height of 300 m (984 ft), the term super-tall skyscrapers can be used, while skyscrapers reaching be-yond 600 m (1,969 ft) are classi-fied as mega-tall skyscrapers.India is witnessing the arriv-al of new generation elevators which are equipped with innova-tive technologies offering ener-gy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and smartness. In the past few years, machine-room-less eleva-tors have become increasingly popular for low-rise and medi-um-rise buildings. The traction machine is installed at the top of the shaft without a separate ma-chine room which saves space, re-duces building construction cost and gives much more flexibility to architects for designing building space usage. Other novel concepts adopted by manufacturers are destination control system, ultra-rope for high rise buildings, and People Flow Intelligence solutions. Moreover, eco-efficient solutions are gaining importance in terms of reducing the running costs of buildings, cars, and other equipment. Taller buildings must a have lesser wait-ing time, hence the speed factor plays a vital role. Energy efficien-cy and ride comfort becomes cru-cial, and ultra-rope (for buildings taller than 1000 meters) come-in very handy here. Another important factor to consider is digitalization, which is no longer used only in the IT in-dustry, but is widely being used in many sectors, in particular those industries that are involved in people movement, like the eleva-tor industry. Digital services help to collaborate with customers and partners, and it is an area where the industry is heading towards. An additional aspect of digitali-zation is the potential to improve speed and efficiency in the re-search & development and manu-facturing units, bringing innova-tions closer to customers, and get new services and solutions faster into the market.Increasing government focus towards building high-class infra-structure, coupled with rising gov-ernment initiatives such as `Smart City' and AMRUT is also expected to drive demand for elevators in the country. Further, the Govern-ment of India is also focusing on the modernization of airports and railway stations, and this is also projected to drive elevators and escalators market in the country during the forecast period.Currently, there is a general slowdown; but I feel it is short-lived. India is certainly on the growth path, and all future poli-cies of the government are aimed at achieving that growth. With the initiatives announced by the gov-ernment like `Housing for all' by 2022, we expect a number of resi-dential projects to come on board in the coming months. In the re-cently announced Union Budget, the government announced the allocation of Rs.103 Lakh crore to boost infrastructure and the devel-opment of 100 more airports to receive support and development. This gives a huge scope for our business. I expect positive growth in the coming months and the in-dustry will head north.Sustainable urbanization and eco-efficiency are embedded in KONE's strategy. We support the ongoing green transformation of the built environment into smart eco-cities, low-carbon communi-ties, and net zero energy buildings. Most recently, KONE has been recognized as one of the most sus-tainable companies in the world by Corporate Knights Inc., rank-ing 32nd (ranked 43rd in previ-ous year) in their 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World ranking.
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