India yet to decide on opening Stilwell Road

16 May 2013 CW Staff

Retired Gen JJ Singh, former chief of India’s army and now governor of the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh, has strongly pushed for reopening of the World War II-era Stilwell Road as potential commercial benefits are weighed against national security concerns. He argues that it should be opened to enable trade and traffic with Burma and China.

Singh said that China has developed its part of the road. They are helping Myanmar develop its bit of the road as well. So there is no point in India not developing its own part of the road, Singh said recently while addressing a conference on India’s 'Look East' policy at the National University of Singapore. Singh, whose state hosts about 27 km of the old road, says his logic is simple: Only 61 km of the historical road passes through India, so it does not really matter whether India reopens the road or not.

Chinese goods and people will be able to reach the Indian border in any case once the Burmese part of the road is opened. India has been reluctant to open the Stilwell Road due to both military and commercial considerations. Indian generals fear that it could be an 'asset; for the Chinese in the event of a war between the two Asian giants.

In November last year, retired Lt-Gen JR Mukherji opposed the opening of the Stilwell Road at a conference in Calcutta. A former chief of staff of India’s eastern command, Mukherji stressed that the road would give the Chinese an advantage in the event of armed conflict. Many other military commanders support Mukherji’s assessment and say the Chinese could use the road to move troops and supplies, slicing through India’s defenses in Arunachal Pradesh if war were to break out.

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..