This conclave serves as one of the largest knowledge forums in infrastructure sector, while simultaneously highlighting the successes in the industry. Commenting on the initiative, Farhad Wadia, CEO, E18 said: "This is a property co-owned by E18 and Essar. We were responsible for the conclave from end to end, which involved conceptualizing the content, bringing in the speakers and the audience, production and set up, and designing the on-ground event flow."

Ravi Singh, Head- Marketing, Essar Steel India added: "While the whole objective is to recognise the best infrastructure company at the Essar Steel Infrastructure Excellence Awards ceremony, infra conclave is a platform to debate and find solutions for the issues plaguing the industry. Over the years, it has grown in stature, in terms of the participation of senior leaders from the industry and government, and the issues discussed. We are proud that our initiative has become an industry benchmark. We would like to make it bigger in the years to come."

The National Infrastructure Conclave 2012 brought together various stakeholders, such as political figures, industry leaders and bureaucrats, to have an open dialogue and explore the possibilities for the smoother implementation of infrastructure projects. The key members of the industry discussed the robustness of the infrastructure sector and disseminated their key learning to accelerate the pace of quality infrastructure development in the country.

The conclave held four sessions wherein four topics were focused on. These were ‘Accelerated Growth of Urban Infrastructure', ‘Ports- Augmenting Infrastructure for India to Emerge as a Premier Seaport Destination', ‘Changing Dynamics in Oil and Gas Sector in India', and ‘Growth of Energy and Power Sector in India'. In each session, the panellists debated the growth of infrastructure in India and the challenges faced by specific sectors, the key impediments in the successful implementation of projects, the policy regulations governing the infrastructure sectors and the need for changes at the policy and the execution level. There was also an exchange of success stories.

Some of the key speakers at the conclave were Shri T. K. A. Nair, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Government of India; K. Venkataramanan, CEO & MD, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.; Dilip Oommen, MD & CEO, Essar Steel Ltd.; J. R. Tanti, MD, Synefra Engg. & Construction Ltd.; Rohit Modi, Deputy MD, Gammon India Ltd.; Ramesh Nair, MD (West India), Jones Lang LaSalle; L. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust; Umesh Grover, Group Executive Director, SKIL Infrastructure Ltd.; Vishal Kalantri, Director, Dighi Port Ltd.; S. C. Gupta, CEO (Offshore Division), ABG Shipyard Ltd.; Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation; U. Dasgupta, Senior VP (Upstream - Oil & Gas Business), Larsen & Toubro Ltd.; Pramod Deo, Chairperson & Chief Executive, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission; Sunand Sharma, Country President, Alstom India & South-Asia; Chintan Shah, Head - Strategic Business Development, Suzlon Energy Ltd.

In continuation of the conclave, the Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2012 will be held on May 8 at The Taj Palace in New Delhi. These awards will felicitate the best infrastructure projects in the country for highways and flyovers, railways, airports, ports, energy and power, oil and gas, telecom, urban infrastructure, and water and sanitation.