India, UAE Plan Lanka Energy Hub

09 Apr 2025 CW Team

India and the UAE are joining forces to develop a major energy hub in Sri Lanka, aiming to counterbalance China's growing regional influence. The proposed hub will be located in Trincomalee, a strategically important port on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast. The initiative marks a new dimension in Delhi-Abu Dhabi strategic collaboration, extending into regional energy security and infrastructure development.

The project will involve upgrading oil storage, refining capacity, and potentially including renewable energy components. It’s designed to enhance energy access, trade logistics, and economic integration in the Bay of Bengal region, reinforcing India’s presence in the Indo-Pacific.

This trilateral cooperation comes as part of India’s broader push to de-risk Sri Lanka from excessive dependence on Chinese funding under the Belt and Road Initiative. By engaging like-minded partners such as the UAE, India seeks to promote transparent, sustainable development models in its neighborhood.

Officials see this partnership as part of a long-term plan to build resilient supply chains, expand regional connectivity, and establish strategic energy assets. It also signals India’s growing geo-economic assertiveness, leveraging energy diplomacy to shape outcomes in the subcontinent.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..