E Tractors Slash Costs for Farmers, Says Maharashtra Minister

03 Jul 2025 CW Team

The arrival of electric tractors will “revolutionise the lives of farmers” by slashing running costs and ushering in a new chapter for Indian agriculture, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said at the weekend.

Speaking at Thane’s Regional Transport Office (RTO), where the first e tractor was officially registered, Sarnaik announced that buyers will qualify for a subsidy of about Rs 0.15 million under the Maharashtra State Electric Vehicle Policy 2025, along with interest free loans from the state run Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation.

Switching from diesel to electricity reduces operational expenses by roughly 60–70 per cent, he noted. “Ploughing one acre costs Rs 1,200–1,500 with a diesel tractor, but only about Rs 300 with an e tractor,” the minister said, predicting a profound impact on farm economics nationwide.

The state aims for electric vehicles to make up 20–30 per cent of all traffic by 2030, combining financial and environmental benefits. The e tractor registered on Sunday is built by Autonxt Automation, a renewable energy technology company.

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

AI: The New Recruit

From getting ideas to evaluating designs, presenting concepts to clients and tracking projects, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping architects work better and faster.“AI allows architects to spend more time doing what only they can do: think critically, synthesise complexity and design with intent,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects. “Every minute reclaimed from repetitive processes can be invested in creativity, contextual understanding, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – the qualities that define meaningful architecture.”To read the ..

Redevelopment 2.0

In 2017, Mumbai identified 160,000 ageing buildings due for structural audit. Close to half of these were in the Western Suburbs. Redeveloping the oldest and structurally weakest of these would help unlock new housing, much needed given the city’s growing population density and constant developed area of 437.7 sq km. At 30,600 people per sq km in 2024, Mumbai’s density was almost thrice that of Gurugram, and 60 per cent higher than Bengaluru’s.Essentially, Mumbai’s realty market has demand. It has capital. It has realty development potential.Fast forward to 2026. Mumbai has 1,094 regis..

Cost intelligence will become a strategic contributor to project success

As India's construction industry accelerates its digital transformation, integrated platforms, AI and connected data are becoming essential to improving cost certainty, project efficiency and sustainability. Ravi Kumar, Sales Director – India, RIB Software India, shares how digital workflows are reshaping project planning, commercial management and decision-making across the construction value chain.India's construction sector is embracing digital technologies at an unprecedented pace. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts driving this transformation and how is RIB Software enab..