L&T: Scaling, Digitization & Sustainability for Growth

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) The next phase of growth will be driven not only by scaling operations but also by embracing digitisation, sustainability, and climate resilience, a senior official of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said on Saturday.

Speaking at The InfraPandit Awards 2025, Sthaladipti Saha, Senior Vice President & Head - Buildings & Factories, L&T Construction, underlined the importance of learning and training, noting that doctoral research is crucial to India's progress.

L&T, he said, also stood for learning and training.

Saha stressed that the nation's future lies not only in its physical assets, such as concrete and steel, but also in its intellectual capital, insight, and imagination, according to a release.

"If infrastructure is the language in which the nation expresses its ambition, science is its grammar," Saha said.

The InfraPandit Awards 2025 recognised two doctoral research contributions addressing India's pressing infrastructure priorities: clean energy access and urban sanitation.

The InfraPandit Awards received applications from 16 institutions, including IIT Kanpur, SPA New Delhi, BITS Pilani, IIT Roorkee, IIM Ahmedabad, IISc Bengaluru, Jadavpur University, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, MNIT Jaipur, Panjab University, NIT Calicut, NIT Warangal, IIT Jammu, RICS-Amity, and JNU.

Notably, 33 per cent of the applicants were women, reflecting a growing gender balance and increasing female leadership in India's infrastructure research ecosystem.

The submissions showcased proposals spanning technology and innovation; agriculture, land, and food systems; social sciences and human development; energy and environment; urban transport infrastructure and governance; and civil and infrastructure engineering, the statement said.

The prestigious Uttam Award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, was bestowed upon Dr Shubham Jain. His research focuses on developing a versatile cascade latent heat storage system for solar cooking applications, including the creation of a patented solar-powered thermal battery capable of multi-temperature indoor cooking.

The Mahaan Award, accompanied by a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, was presented to Dr Paresh Jawarilal Chhajed, who earned his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay for his seminal work on scaling Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) in India's small cities, providing a governance and policy framework for non-conventional sanitation systems where conventional sewerage remains financially and spatially unviable.