Among the select few C-level executives in Indian infrastructure, Kavita Shirvaikar, Managing Director of Patel Engineering Ltd., is widely admired for shattering the glass ceiling in a traditionally male-dominated field. In an exclusive conversation with INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY’s Manish Pant, she discusses her ambitious vision of steering the 76-year-old, Mumbai-headquartered infrastructure and construction company toward a...
Category: ECONOMY & POLICY
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HAM: The Road Ahead
Recent policy recalibrations are reshaping the hybrid annuity model, a distinctly Indian innovation in public-private partnership for road infrastructure. These changes aim to ensure that financially sound and technically qualified developers take the lead, setting the stage for higher construction standards and a more balanced distribution of national highway projects, says Anand Kulkarni. National highways...
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Accelerating India’s High-Speed Future
Currently, 22 countries operate high-speed rail or bullet train networks, while another 16 are developing them at various stages of completion. India joined this global movement in 2017 with the launch of its first bullet train corridor on the commercially vital Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. The service was initially expected to begin in 2023, but land acquisition...
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Fast Forwarding Bharat: The Next Leap
As India’s first bullet train line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad approaches full commissioning by 2029, momentum is building to accelerate the rollout of additional high-speed corridors nationwide, writes Manish Pant. In June 2022, high humidity, frequent rainfall, and oppressive monsoon temperatures were matched by intense backroom politics in Maharashtra’s capital, Mumbai. Nearly 40 dissident lawmakers...
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Building for Safety: Future-Proofing Indian Infrastructure
Future-proofing Indian infrastructure means designing for resilience, adaptability and sustainability, ensuring that what we build today continues to safeguard society well into tomorrow, explains Ajay Gupta. India stands at a critical juncture in its infrastructure journey. The country is urbanising at an unprecedented pace, with highways, metros, bridges, airports, and residential clusters rapidly transforming the...
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Karnataka Partners with SIA-India to Launch India’s First State-Led Space Technology Centre
The centre of excellence in Bengaluru will incubate startups, drive R&D, and position Karnataka as a global space innovation hub. The Karnataka government has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the industry association SIA-India to establish India’s first state-level centre of excellence (CoE) in space technology. The initiative, led by the Karnataka Innovation and...
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IndiGo Expands UK Reach with More Flights to Manchester and London Heathrow
India’s largest airline boosts non-stop connectivity from Delhi and Mumbai using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. IndiGo, India’s largest airline by marketshare and fleet size, is set to expand its long-haul footprint to the UK this winter, increasing frequencies on its direct routes to Manchester and London Heathrow from Delhi and Mumbai. The move follows strong booking...
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ENGIE Secures 100 MW Solar PPA with SECI, Expands Rajasthan Portfolio to 1 GW
Located in one of India’s highest solar irradiance zones, the Barmer project is set to deliver dependable clean power to a region where rising energy demand and economic growth go hand in hand. French energy services group ENGIE has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a...
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IMC 2025: Scindia Highlights India’s Digital Leap in Manufacturing, Startups
The communications minister said that from semiconductor fabs to women-led startups, India’s innovation ecosystem is scaling from Tier 1 metros to Tier 3 towns. Reiterating a perspective shared on the opening day of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister for Communications, said India’s evolution from a services-led economy to a global...
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Lotus Takes Flight: Mumbai’s Aviation Horizon Expands as PM Modi Launches Navi Mumbai International Airport
The ₹167 billion Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) project is expected to boost Maharashtra’s GDP by 0.5 per cent, catalyse real estate growth, and reposition Mumbai as a global twin-airport city alongside aviation hubs such as Dubai, London and New York. Putting an end to a long wait spanning nearly two decades, Prime Minister Narendra...