Today, project management success stories abound in India – the largest election in the world in 2014 in which preparations were made for 814.5 million citizens to cast their vote; the largest religious gathering in the world during the Maha Kumbh Mela of 2013 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh in which more 120 million pilgrims participated; the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission which at Rs. 4.5 billion ($74 million) was a successful first attempt at a fraction of the cost compared to other such missions in the world; the new Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, a world-class structure built around a fully-functional, existing airport, to name a few.

These achievements prove that the country has mature project management acumen. However, to replicate these successes throughout the country – across big and small projects in the public and private sectors – the country needs to produce a sufficient number of certified project managers. How can India add 700,000 more managers every CXO ROUND TABLE SERIES year for the next 10 years and ensure its growth momentum continues unimpeded?

PMI India and The Economic Times jointly organized a series of roundtable discussions across four cities in India that brought business leaders from a wide range of industries and senior bureaucrats together. These discussions were held between September and November 2016, culminating in a session during the PMI India National Conference in Mumbai.

This white paper captures key messages from those discussions: the most nagging challenges, areas that need immediate attention, thought-provoking ideas, and recommendations that will greatly improve India’s overall project performance.

Besides views and insights of experts from both project sites and boardrooms, the white paper features an in-depth interview with PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley, who highlights the critical link between project management and organizational success. Managing director, PMI India, Raj Kalady writes about the proven benefits that organizations gain when they invest in project management. Besides actionable insights offered
by the experts during the CXO roundtables, the white paper features articles from business leaders on various ways to improve India’s project success rate.

The white paper recommends measures to improve project performance in both the government and private sector. First, to address the project management talent gap, organizations must adopt project management as a formal discipline and develop project management competency frameworks. Second, organizations must institutionalize project management training in both standard project management practices and need-based, project-specific training of tools, technologies and processes in a continuous manner. Third, the government must include project management certification as a key criterion in awarding contracts to agencies. And fourth, organizations must build strong, trusting relationships and turn owner-contractor relationships into fair and equitable partnerships.