Hilton Develops India-Made Forged Railway Wheelsets

11 Jun 2025 CW Team

Hilton Metal Forging Ltd has successfully developed and manufactured indigenous Railway Forged Wagon Wheelsets, which have been inspected and approved by RITES, the Indian government’s quality assurance agency. Each wheelset includes two forged wheels and one forged axle, with every rail coach or wagon requiring four such wheelsets.

The company aims to meet the growing demand from Indian railway wagon manufacturers and reduce reliance on Chinese imports. Under the “Make in India” initiative, Hilton plans to manufacture over 3,000 wheelsets in FY26 and scale up to more than 12,000 units in FY27. The targeted installed capacity is set at 20,000 wheelsets annually.

India’s railway freight sector is undergoing rapid expansion, with the government aiming to increase the modal share of freight transport via railways from 27 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030. With 98 per cent of the rail network already electrified and the implementation of Mission Raftaar, the focus remains on enhancing the speed and efficiency of both freight and passenger trains across the country.

In FY25, Indian factories manufactured 41,929 freight wagons, 1,681 locomotives (up 19 per cent from FY24), and 7,134 passenger coaches. Around 90,000 units—including freight wagons, coaches, and locomotives—undergo periodic maintenance annually at 44 railway workshops. This generates a steady annual demand of approximately 170,000 new wheelsets and 250,000 new wheels.

Hilton’s forged wheelsets are expected to contribute significantly to meeting this demand, aligning with national priorities for self-reliance and localisation in high-performance railway components.

Infrastructure Urban

11 Mar 2026

India Expands Semiconductor Training To 500 Institutions

Under the Chips to Startups programme of the India Semiconductor Mission, the Union minister responsible for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT reported notable progress in talent development. He indicated that over the past four years substantial steps have been taken towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. World-class EDA tools have been deployed in 315 academic institutions across the country to provide students with practical exposure to chip design. These EDA tools are supported by leading global firms and are accessible t..

Delhi Institutions Support India Semiconductor Mission

The Government of India has prioritised talent development through training, upskilling and workforce development under the Chips to Startups initiative of the India Semiconductor Mission, with officials noting progress in four years towards a 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design. Electronic design automation tools provided by Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Renesas, Ansys and AMD have been deployed in 315 academic institutions, enabling students to gain practical chip design experience. Chips have been fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory, Mohali, a..

NHA Announces Winners Of NHCX Hackathon At IIT Hyderabad

The National Health Authority (NHA) has concluded the NHCX Hackathon under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to stimulate innovation around the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX). The winning teams presented their solutions at the NHCX Innovation Meet held at IIT Hyderabad during a two-day event in March 2026 that also served as the hackathon grand finale. The hackathon itself ran from 22 to 28 February 2026 and aimed to accelerate paperless, transparent claims processing across India. The event was organised with a range of ecosystem partners, including the Insurance Regulatory a..