Sanchi becomes India's first solar hub

08 Sep 2023 CW Team

Sanchi, the historic home to the renowned Stupa, which has illuminated the world for over two millennia, now holds the distinction of being India's first 'solar city'. In an official ceremony, Shivraj Singh Chouhan Chief Minister, marked this significant achievement, drawing a parallel to the enlightening legacy of Lord Buddha. He stated that Sanchi had shown the way to the world, just as Lord Buddha once did, by becoming the country's first solar city.

The solar project in Sanchi was expected to have a substantial environmental impact, with carbon dioxide emissions set to be reduced by a staggering 14,324 tonne annually.

At present, a 3 MW solar plant caters to the city's energy needs and is fully operational. Concurrently, a 5 MW plant, dedicated to fulfilling agricultural requirements, was under construction. The 3 MW plant occupied a 5-hectare land close to the Unesco World Heritage site.

Upon completion, Sanchi was poised to generate surplus energy compared to its consumption. Chouhan also highlighted the broader initiative in the state, which included the construction of a 600 MW electricity-producing solar plant on the dam water in Omkareshwar. He reaffirmed the commitment to source power from green alternatives rather than thermal plants, recognising the detrimental environmental impact of the latter.

Sanchi's green transition also included the development of energy-efficient devices, e-charging stations, solar streetlights, and solar water pumps for the civic body. Farmers in the region would receive support in installing solar pumps, according to Chouhan's announcement.

Also read:
India aims to lead as green fuel refuelling hub for shipping
IREDA partners with Union Bank of India, BoB to boost RE growth

Real Estate

05 Dec 2025

RBI Rate Cut Boosts Confidence Across Housing Market

Industry Context and Market DynamicsThe real estate industry has welcomed the RBI’s rate cut as a timely boost to affordability and demand. With home prices having risen steadily across major markets, even a marginal reduction in interest rates meaningfully strengthens purchasing power, especially for first-time and mid-income buyers.Ashish Jerath, President – Sales & Marketing, Smartworld Developers, observes:“The RBI’s 25-basis-point cut, bringing the repo rate down to 5.25%, is a timely boost for the real estate sector. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, enabling homeb..

BMC Resumes Rs 170 Billion Road Works, Targets 80 per cent By Jan 2026

Following the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon in October, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has restarted work on 645 roads—covering 297.49 kilometres—under its large-scale concretisation programme. Data shows that more than 60 per cent of the resumed works are located in the western suburbs. Officials said the civic body aims to complete concretisation on 80 per cent of the roads where fresh work has begun by January 2026. Launched in 2022, the Rs 170 billion project seeks to concretise 700 kilometres of roads across Mumbai. All civil works were halted during the monsoon ..

India Pushes Digital Shift In Urban Land Mapping

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development has convened a National Symposium on NAKSHA – the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations – to advance India’s transition to modern, technology-driven land mapping. Speaking at the inaugural session, Secretary Manoj Joshi underscored the urgent need to move revenue departments away from outdated, tape-based methods and rough hand-drawn sketches. He stressed that adopting latitude–longitude-based digital mapping and GIS-linked registration systems is essential for economic stabi..