Development Watch – Week #4 April’26

Development News

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Suzlon launches wind turbines in Europe

India’s Suzlon Group on Tuesday launched its 5 megawatt (MW) and 6.3 MW wind turbine models in Europe, targeting the ‌continent’s ⁠repowering and new-build ⁠markets. Suzlon said Europe is entering a key repowering phase, creating demand for higher-capacity, site-specific turbines Suzlon has installed about 21.5 gigawatt (GW) ⁠of wind capacity across 17 countries. Around 15.5 GW is in India and nearly 6 GW installed overseas. Europe has nearly 100 GW of new wind ‌project potential and 17 GW of repowering potential. Suzlon has nearly 660 MW installed capacity in Europe.

Amara Raja to produce EV cells in bulk in 2027

A manufacturing ecosystem for lithium-ion cells is slowly coming up in India, but electric vehicle makers should not expect an immediate cost windfall. Locally produced cells will carry a minimum 15% price premium over imports in the near term, as it takes time to create a meaningful upstream ecosystem from raw materials to components that China spent two decades building. Until domestic cell makers achieve a scale of 8-10 GWh and a supporting supply chain develops around them, the economics simply will not work in the favour of EV makers. The company will take a graduated approach to scaling. Cell production will begin this year at a megawatt-hour scale, with commercial samples supplied to Indian customers for qualification.

BLW locomotives manufactured for Mozambique

Indian Railways has successfully completed its order of 10 locomotives to Mozambique. The final two 3,300 HP diesel-electric locomotives manufactured at Banaras Locomotive Works reaching the nation. This ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ initiative showcases India’s growing strength in global rail manufacturing, with these state-of-the-art locomotives designed for comfort and efficiency.

FedEx completed India’s first drone delivery trials

Express transportation firm Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) on Tuesday said it has completed India’s first intra-city drone delivery flight trials in Bengaluru in collaboration with IIT-Madras. The trials were conducted under the research framework of the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT Madras, FedEx said in a statement. Through detailed analysis of aerial corridors, the centre established that a 53-km road journey, which typically takes over 60 minutes, can be replaced by an aerial route of 39-42 km. The flight path involved coordinated navigation through Airport Yellow and Red Zones, with all necessary permissions granted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Rs. 83,977 Crores outlay for Ph 3 of Rural Road Scheme

The Cabinet on Saturday extended the validity of the third phase of the rural road scheme, with a revised outlay of Rs 83,977 crore, seeking to consolidate through routes and major rural links connecting habitations to farm markets, schools and hospitals. The deadline to complete roads and bridges in plain areas and roads in hilly areas under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-III (PMGSY-III) is now extended to March 2028, while bridges in mountainous areas have to be built by March 2029, according to an official statement. Since the scheme’s launch in late 2000, rural roads stretching over 7,94,236 km have been built under various phases, connecting around 7,00,000 rural facilities.

India-Singapore roadmap for digital corridor

India and Singapore are collaborating on a roadmap for digital corridors and green shipping infrastructure. This initiative aligns with global decarbonisation efforts in the maritime sector. Details regarding investment, fuel demand, and facilities are being finalized. The partnership leverages India’s green energy resources and Singapore’s maritime hub status. This collaboration aims to develop new opportunities for both nations.

India-South Korea shipbuilding collaboration

Shipbuilding with focus on manufacturing LNG tankers among other civilian ships under Make in India initiative will top the agenda of the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s India visit between April 19-21. South Korea is a ship-building powerhouse and has agreed to assist India in construction of ships including LNG tankers in Indian shipyards. The collaboration will involve transfer of technology and India will help to scale up production of ships, according to persons familiar with the matter. Trade and economic relations between India and South Korea have gathered momentum following the implementation of CEPA in 2010. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2025 stood at USD 25.6 billion, with India’s import volume in 2025 as USD 19.2 billion, while the export volume as USD 6.4 billion.