Development Watch – Week #3 Feb’26

Development News

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Meerut Metro to be India’s fastest

Meerut Metro will soon be India’s fastest metro, operating at 120 kmph. This new service connects Meerut South to Modipuram over 21 km in about 30 minutes. It will run on the same tracks as Namo Bharat trains, creating an integrated transport system. Modern trains will offer energy efficiency and advanced technology. the metro will feature modern stainless-steel trainsets with a lightweight design and a distinctive fluorescent green, blue and orange colour scheme. The three-coach trains are energy-efficient, equipped with regenerative braking systems, and compatible with Automatic Train Protection and Automatic Train Operation technologies.

High speed rail projects for Kerala

To improve the railway network in Kerala, the Ministry of Railways has sanctioned surveys for preparation of DPR for seven projects with high-speed potential of 160 kilometers per hour. The seven projects include the 307 km long Shoranur-Mangalore 3rd and 4th line, 99 km long Coimbatore-Shoranur 3rd and 4th line, 106 km long Shoranur-Ernakulam 3rd line and the 115 km long Ernakulam-Kayamkulam 3rd line (via Kottayam), an official release on Friday said. The other projects include the 105 km long Kayamkulam-Thiruvananthapuram 3rd line, the 71 km long Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil 3rd line.

Automated air-cargo hub in Navi Mumbai

FedEx and Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on Wednesday broke ground on FedEx’s fully automated air cargo hub, advancing capacity in India’s largest international trade corridor. According to a joint statement, the Rs 2,500 crore long-term investment by FedEx will support the proposed 300,000 sq. ft. facility, designed as a regional consolidation and redistribution hub and developed in partnership with AdAirport Holdings Ltd. (AAHL). The hub leverages NMIA’s multimodal infrastructure to strengthen Western India’s international trade corridor. Once operational, the hub is expected to create more than 6,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities across logistics, warehousing, transportation and allied services.

NGT nod for Nicobar Port

the National Green Tribunal has green-lighted the ambitious Great Nicobar mega infrastructure project worth Rs. 90,000 crores. After thorough inspection, the tribunal determined that the environmental clearances come with robust protective measures. It underlined the project’s vital role in regional development. The NGT bench, while disposing of a batch of petitions challenging the project, underscored its “strategic importance” and noted that the concerns raised had been duly examined by the high-powered committee it constituted in 2023 to review the environmental clearance. In April 2023, the NGT had upheld the environmental clearance on several counts and constituted a high-powered committee to address the remaining concerns.

The Great Nicobar infrastructure project near Galathea Bay comprises a container transshipment port, a dual-use civil-military airport and an integrated township spread over 166 sq km. It entails diversion of about 130 sq km of forest land on an island recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot, home to species such as the Nicobar megapode, leatherback turtle and Nicobar macaque. Its lcoation location on the main east-west shipping route, roughly equidistant from Colombo, Port Klang and Singapore, adds to its strategic significance.

MG Motor to invest $440 million on expansion

JSW MG Motor is a joint venture between China’s SAIC Motor and India’s steel-to-cement JSW Group. It plans to invest up to $440 million to expand its India factory and launch new cars with a focus on hybrid and electric models. The company would invest 30 billion to 40 billion rupees ($330 million to $440 million) over the next few years to launch three to four new vehicles this year and expand its existing plant capacity to 300,000 units a year from about 120,000 units currently. JSW MG Motor’s losses doubled to $121 million ‌in the financial year ended March 31, 2025. It had cash of about $60 million and borrowings of $344 million at that time, reports filed with the government showed.

Challenges in Indian solar supply chain

A push to expand local production — encouraged by pandemic disruptions and strained relations with China — has resulted in a 13-fold jump in capacity since 2020, according to BloombergNEF, to nearly triple domestic demand. The scale of that surge prompted the government late last year to urge banks lending to the sector to exercise caution. Manufacturers, meanwhile, are beginning to pull back from lower-value output. Capacity utilization at the country’s module-assembly plants has shrunk to around 40% from more than 70% in the year through March 2023. The problem is that India’s demand hasn’t kept pace. Granted, domestic consumption is increasing — the nation installed a record 38 gigawatts of solar power in 2025, according to official data, about 53 gigawatts in DC terms. That would still be dwarfed by manufacturing capacity of about 154 gigawatts at the end of the year.