A national workshop titled “Building Future Bharat with NBCS-2026” was organised in Bhubaneswar on Saturday under the joint aegis of the Odisha chapter of the Indian Buildings Congress (IBC) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Speaking at the concluding session as the chief guest, Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan emphasised the need to adopt a 100-year vision while planning and constructing modern infrastructure.
He said infrastructure projects must focus on durability, safety and disaster resilience to meet the requirements of future generations. The Minister also stressed the need to reduce project completion timelines while adopting green infrastructure, alternative construction materials, IoT-based building maintenance systems and other emerging technologies.
Recommendations for Effective Implementation of NBCS-2026
During the workshop, IBC Governing Council member Engineer Manoranjan Mishra presented the consolidated policy recommendations emerging from the discussions before the state administration.
The recommendations included structural audits of buildings more than 10 years old and measures to address the shortage of trained and licensed auditors across different fields. Participants also stressed the need for continuous awareness and capacity-building programmes to ensure effective implementation of NBCS-2026.
The workshop highlighted the commitment of various stakeholders towards developing safe, sustainable, disaster-resilient and future-ready infrastructure in Odisha and across India.
Experts Discuss Construction and Fire Safety
Experts at the workshop held detailed discussions on various aspects of NBCS-2026, including construction safety, fire safety, disaster resilience, sustainable construction practices and quality procurement systems.
The event brought together engineers and representatives from various departments and institutions. Among those present were NBCS Committee Chairman Engineer Vasudevan Suresh, former Deputy Director General (Standardisation) Engineer Sanjay Pant, Director of Civil Engineering and Head of the NBC Unit Engineer Arun Kumar S., and IBC Odisha State Chapter Chairman Engineer Bijay Chandra Tripathy.
The workshop provided a platform for experts and stakeholders to discuss measures for strengthening construction standards and ensuring safer and more sustainable infrastructure development in the state and the country.