In an interview with Anand Sen, Steering Group Chairman and Tata Steel Vice President (Flat Products), he talked about the demonstration building, soon to begin construction in Kolkata, India, and its affect on that market. Following is a report:

This is the first steel residential building in India, and construction will create a lot of interest in many spheres throughout the country and beyond. As well, we are planning to measure building performance, not only during construction but after occupancy, which will be highly useful to our global members and partners. And the partnerships that we are building in these competition demonstration projects, like our India partner Bengal Shrachi Housing Development Limited, are extremely important. They are involved right from the beginning and are getting exposure to this modern construction technique, which they will in turn share with the construction community and its customers. Also, a local architect is partnered with the building's architect, Piercy Conner UK, and is getting exposure to steel housing design, which will be shared in the architect community. This all will create a lot of positive pull for steel construction.

The predominant building material used today in India is concrete. Lower cost housing is using mud, thatch and steel sheet (for roofing). So, it is a challenge to introduce steel housing to this market. However, the housing shortage is of such proportions that there is likely to be a rapid growth rate; and the advantage steel brings in this scenario is one of speedy and, therefore, high capital efficiency. Steel construction also provides a variety of possible solutions at different price points. While the market today is in its nascency, it is reasonable to expect that steel will become popular over the next three to five years.