Currently, about 40% of global infrastructure investments are in the Energy Sector, while another 36% is spent on roads and bridges. Other infrastructure sectors including rail, airports, telecom, etc. account for the remaining 24% of total global investment in infrastructure and allied sectors. According to the World Bank estimates, the total global infrastructure expenditure will be around US$ 2 trillion annually over the next decade.

Infrastructure sector in India

Closer home, the Infrastructure Sector in India has a bright future. According to Planning Commission estimates India needs aggregate investment of more than US $ 500 billion over the 11th Plan period of five years ending March 2012. Such large investments are required in order to upgrade and expand the infrastructure for sustaining the targeted average GDP growth rate of 8-9% per annum.
The total expenditure on infrastructure during the 11th five year plan is almost 2.7 times bigger than the actual spending on infrastructure sector during the 10th five year plan. This spending is planned across various segments, with the power sector share being the largest (30.4%) during 11th five year plan. Other sectors with a major share of total infrastructure spending are roads and railways, having shares of 15.4% & 12.7%, respectively.

Let’s understand the key components of the Infrastructure sector, and its importance.

a) Energy & Power: Development of energy sector is crucial for India’s long term economic development. Energy sector comprises of conventional fuel technology, energy transformation and transmission, renewable and alternative energies, energy sector has a direct impact on economics and environmental concerns of India. The Indian Oil and Gas sector is one of the six core industries in India and has very significant impact on the entire economy. The oil & gas sector meets more than two third of the total primary energy needs in the country.

b) Transportation: With rapid urbanization, the need for quality transportation facility is rising. India has the second largest road network in the world, with an aggregate 3.3 Million Kilometres of road linkage accounts for around 86% of passenger traffic and 61% of freight, making it the main artery for commuting across the country. The Indian Railways (IR) has the second largest railway network in the world, running over 63,332 route Kilometres. Although development of Rail Infrastructure is an integral operation of Indian Government, in recent years the government has opened up the railways sector for private participation for operating container trains across ports in India. Also, establishment of rail linked inland container depots (“ICDs”) across India for international as well as domestic trade has been initiated.

The importance of the seaports for the international trade can be gauged by the fact that out of the total foreign trade of India, which is nearly 90% of the trade, is handled via sea ports.

c) SEZ & Real Estate: Although it has suffered a setback of late, SEZs are important tools for economic development of India. The Real estate industry, which recorded an impressive growth of around 35% in 2008, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of more than 25% over the next decade.

The scale and growth of these sectors is generating attractive career opportunities for professionals with specialized knowledge and managerial expertise in these fields. According to management experts and CXO engaged in the domain, since Infrastructure sector is highly specialized, with very substantial investments & scale of the projects, it requires highly mature managers.

To cater to this need, many quality management institutes have started offering specialized programs in various aspects of Infrastructure management. This article aims to give a bird's eye view of these management programs.

MDI Gurgaon, a leading management institute, offers PGDM -Energy Management. The objectives of this program are to develop talent for Power/Energy sector and equip participants with knowledge in the area of managing electricity business. Program aims to facilitate awareness, understanding and implementation of key provisions of enactments related to Power and Energy sector. The leading recruiters in this sector include Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, GMAR, Reliance, CRISIL, GMAR, SN Power, Deloitte, to name a few.

Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management, based in Ahmedabad, offers a PGP-IM program. PGPIM is a One-Year, full time residential program. It was launched in September 2009. Courses offered in PGPIM employ a mix of pedagogical methods including Case Discussion & Analysis, Lectures, Group Exercises, Simulations, Presentations, Role Plays, Project Work and Field Visits to enhance the effectiveness and richness of learning and in-class experience. Special emphasis will be laid on the Case Method as a dominant mode of instruction.

Why Specialized Programs
How are these specialized programs different from the general MBAs? Dr. Bakul Dholakia, Director, Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management, Ahmedabad says, “All One-Year programmes currently being offered by Indian Business Schools are essentially General Management Programmes. Infrastructure sector management has different needs. For example, the financial investments in this sector run into thousands of crores. This means that financial planning & risk management in an infrastructure sector assumes a lot more importance than say in the FMCG sector. Specialized programs in infrastructure sector offer those skills to the participants.”

Dr. Arun Mudbidri, Founder and Principal Director of Samvit School of Infrastructure Business, Pune says, “Infrastructure Business is already on the way of becoming a Sunrise Sector. This sector requires qualifications which are useful for the sectors unique career requirements. This is a reason why conventional MBA’s do not find favor with this sector. There is tremendous potential for the students joining infrastructure in terms of Managerial career opportunities and long term growth potentials to Leadership positions.” Samvit School of Infrastructure Business offers Post Graduate Program in Infrastructure Business with the objective of developing complete professionals talent for infrastructure sector. “At SAMVIT students of post graduate programme will be given in-depth knowledge about infrastructure finance and risks involved in it. With this focus students after completing two year programme will be in great demand in infrastructure companies and supporting sectors like banking, insurance and infrastructure finance companies,” mentions the institute.

In 2011, to offer specialized programs in Infrastructure domain, leading Chennai based B-school Great Lakes Institute of Management entered into partnership with Institute of Energy Management and Research (IEMR), Gurgaon to create Great Lakes Institute of Energy Management and Research (GLIEMR). The institute offers India’s most comprehensive Energy management program covering Power, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development. Great Lakes Institute of Management has also entered the Energy Management education arena with a tie-up with the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston to offer its top-ranked Executive Energy Management program in India called GEMBA. The institute offers many management programs from its Gurgaon campus for working executives.
Let’s look at some of the key Infrastructure management programs.

Infrastructure Management Programs
MDI Gurgaon PGDM (Energy Management): MDI Gurgaon offers PGDM (Energy Management), a 15 month duration program with 12 months in class followed by three months off campus on the dissertation project work. The School of Energy Management was started by MDI Gurgaon with the support of Ministry of Power & USAID. The program is approved by AICTE and accredited by AMBA.

Great Lakes IEMR PGWPM - The Post Graduate Working Professionals Program in Management (PGWPM) - Energy is a two year alternate weekend MBA program for professionals in the energy sector seeking to enhance their competencies and managerial skills while continuing to work. Its curriculum is based on the highly industry acclaimed PGPM (Energy) full time program with unique domain specializations in Power, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development.

Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management PGPIM – AIIM offers PGPIM programme. The institute has been set up with a vision to provide high-quality education and training young people for shouldering the managerial responsibilities in the infrastructure and allied sectors.

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies offers MBA (Infrastructure Management). Samvit School Of Infrastructure Business, the recently launched B-school offers PGPIB programme. TERI University, the University offers MBA in Infrastructure Management. The programme is open to both mid career professionals and fresh graduates. Era Business School offers a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Construction Project Management). It is a two-year program for the development of professionals with knowledge, skills and expertise for effective management of construction, real estate and infrastructure projects.

Placements:

The placement trends look good.

For example, Adani Institute of Infrastructure Management has placed all the participants of its 2nd batch (2011) successfully. Average Salary of 17 participants, placed across various organizations is Rs. 9.17 Lakhs per annum, which represents around 92% increase over their average salary at the time of joining the programme. The highest salary offered is Rs. 15.50 Lakhs, while the lowest salary offered is Rs. 6.32 Lakhs. The positions offered to the PGPIM participants include Sr. Manager (Project Management & Business Development), Manager (Business Development), Manager (Learning & Organization Development), Manager (Sales), Sr. Business Analyst, Dy. Manager (Dry Cargo Operations), Dy. Manager (Operations), Dy. Manager (Container Business), etc.

At GLIEMR, the Final Placements for PGPM (Energy) 2012 got participation from premier consulting firms and saw 25% of the batch placed in two days with good profiles and offers. Premier consulting firm Deloitte made 5 offers of over Rs. 10 Lakhs on the first day.

Similar trends are noted from other leading Infrastructure management institutes.

So if you are looking to get into this sunrise sector, there are plenty of good B-schools, and jobs waiting for you. Take the plunge!