In his inaugural address at the 160th Annual Day celebrations of CPWD here, Mukherjee asked the construction major to evolve into "a smarter, more dynamic and highly professional organisation" by benchmarking itself with the best in the world.
"The construction sector is marked by dynamism in terms of concepts, techniques and efficiency parameters. Any modern organisation operating in this evolving field can ill-afford to ignore the latest developments taking place," he said.
Stating that 'it is understandable that old organisations are often burdened with out-dated practises', the President urged CPWD to "focus on areas where innovation and modernisation in the infrastructure sector can lead to accelerated economic development".
"It is for CPWD to adopt state-of-the-art procedures for maintenance of assets. The challenge is therefore to become vibrant and enterprising and respond quickly to the changing external environment," he said.
He further suggested that CPWD should look at providing last-mile connectivity of rural roads, health and educational infrastructure, water supply and sanitation.