Mumbai, India, June 03: The Association of Global NICMARians (AGNI), the alumni body of NICMAR with a 43-year legacy and a global network of over 10,500 professionals, successfully hosted ASPIRE 2026 (Annual Symposium of Professionals in Infrastructure and Real Estate), its flagship industry symposium focused on the theme “Innovation to Transformation.”
Bringing together industry leaders, experts, entrepreneurs, and professionals from across the construction, infrastructure, real estate, and project management sectors, the event highlighted the urgent need for the industry to embrace innovation, technology, AI, sustainability, and data-driven decision-making to remain future-ready.
During the symposium, AGNI unveiled its vision to emerge as a leading industry think tank and announced initiatives including an Industry Benchmarking Programme and the development of a digital ecosystem featuring tools such as the AGNI Innovation Impact Assessment Tool, Salary Benchmarking Tool, Company Benchmarking Tool, Material Costing Tool, and Vendor Portfolio Platform.
The Chief Guest, Dr. P.R. Swarup, Director General, CIDC, emphasized the importance of building a future-ready workforce, strengthening technical capabilities, and fostering collaboration to transform India’s construction industry into a global force. He encouraged AGNI to work closely with CIDC in advancing its vision for industry transformation. As a key outcome of the symposium, AGNI and CIDC agreed to collaborate closely in the future to drive industry development, skill enhancement, knowledge sharing, and innovation adoption across the construction ecosystem.
Another key highlight of the symposium was an insightful and highly enriching session on the Transformation of Mumbai’s Infrastructure by Hemant Jagtap, Officer on Special Duty, MSRDC. The session offered valuable perspectives on the planning and execution of landmark infrastructure projects that are reshaping Mumbai’s urban landscape and enhancing regional connectivity.
A key highlight of the event was the launch of the 1st Edition of the AGNI Excellence Awards, recognizing innovations with the potential to create measurable impact across the construction ecosystem. The awards received over 34 nominations across five categories, with 12 shortlisted startups presenting their solutions before an audience and jury panel. Winners were selected through a transparent online voting process involving both the jury and attendees.
The AGNI Excellence Awards aim to become the industry‘s ultimate seal of adoption, providing startups and innovators a platform to connect directly with end-users and decision-makers. By shifting the focus from ideas to implementation, the initiative seeks to accelerate the adoption of practical and impactful innovations across the construction industry.
Speaking at the event, AGNI leaders reiterated the organization’s ambition to evolve beyond a professional network and emerge as a leading industry think tank focused on thought leadership, innovation, and practical solutions for the built environment sector. Reflecting on the success of the symposium, AGNI representatives shared that ASPIRE 2026 demonstrated the growing need for stronger industry collaboration, knowledge exchange, and future-focused conversations that can help shape the next phase of India’s infrastructure growth story.
ASPIRE 2026 marks the beginning of AGNI‘s larger mission to drive industry transformation through thought leadership, benchmarking, innovation, and collaboration across the built environment sector.