“Gyaan Kosh” Shared Learning Resources: Knowledge Bank (Initiative by the Capacity Building Commission, Government of India)
The digitalization journey happened in two phases: ‘Data Lake 1.0’ was developed in 2020 with the vision to digitize ongoing project-related information but also to do the same exercise for legacy project records. It had dedicated role-based logins for all NHAI offices and other stakeholders along with provisions to capture crucial project-related activity at every project stage. Implementation of Data Lake 1.0 enabled NHAI leadership to identify some of the key challenges in the digitalization of infrastructure projects in India, which led them to launch ‘Data Lake 2.0’ in 2023, which is transaction and workflow driven system. Data Lake 2.0 also adopted Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Geographic Information System (GIS) for advanced analytics and decision support.
Chairman, NHAI: “NHAI took a 360-degree approach to digitalize and re-engineer most of the key activities in the life cycle of a highway project, viz. planning, detailed project reports (DPR), construction, maintenance, tolling and upgradation of the highway network, to improve the system’s efficiency and ease of doing business.
For effective management of the projects at NHAI, digitalization was key for our strategy. Data Lake 1.0 was one of the first step for NHAI to completely revamp operations at NHAI. It was the beginning of a comprehensive project management system at NHAI.
Features of subsequent version i.e. Data Lake 2.0 were designed to strengthen the adherence to the various processes through digitalization. The constructive feedback from the users was crucial for us to formulate Data Lake features. It helped us make them more conducive to the end users rather than imposed. We preferred to maintain an agile approach and incorporate various types of requirements of our stakeholders so that Data Lake 2.0 felt more user–centric and user–driven.
The success of our in-house-built Data Lake 2.0 sets a benchmark for many other government authorities and ministries by showcasing what digitalization can achieve and how it can be done at such a substantial scale. Data Lake 2.0 has not only streamlined and digitalized the processes but also supports centralized planning by fostering inter-departmental collaboration across various ministries and portfolios. We have many government-to-government (G2G) applications interfaced with Data Lake 2.0 that help them use the information within it for their purpose.
In the beginning of 2023, NHAI had already started planning an even more advanced system viz. ‘Data Lake 3.0’. They aimed to enhance the system in a manner that would include automation and provide in depth data-driven insights for the users and beneficiaries, aiding in right cognitive decisions using AI and ML algorithms. There was very little time and a lot to execute. How NHAI take this project to the next level?
Chandan Chowdhury is a Professor of Operations Management and Information Systems (Practice) at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He is also the Executive Director of the Munjal Institute for Global Manufacturing and the Punj-Lloyd Institute of Infrastructure Management at ISB.
Additionally, Professor Chowdhury serves as a Member of the Board of Governors at IIM Sambalpur and Lamrin Tech Skills University.
Before joining ISB, Professor Chowdhury worked in the corporate sector and was associated with three major multinational companies, where he held positions such as Managing Director and Country Manager. He served Dassault Systèmes for over five years, initially as Managing Director, India Geo, and subsequently as Vice President, Global Affairs.
During his last academic appointment, he was Professor, Dean (Academy), and Chairman of the Board of Research at IIM Mumbai (formerly known as NITIE- National Institute of Industrial Engineering, established as a joint initiative between the United Nations and the Government of India in 1963).
He is passionate about leveraging technology to make the world a better place. He served as an expert panel member at NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India, Government of India), helping to develop the Manufacturing India@2035 roadmap. He is also Chairman of the Technical Committee (Management and Productivity) at the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Professor Chowdhury is currently leading several research projects of national importance, such as ‘A Decade of Infrastructure Development in India: trends and Insights’, ‘Challenges and Opportunities for accelerating MSME’s growth’, ‘Making India a Skill Capital of the World,’ ‘India’s readiness for the 4th and the 5th Industrial revolution,’ and ‘Future of Jobs’.
He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
