Railways Clears Jammu-Katra Line Doubling Survey

22 Jul 2025 CW Team

The Ministry of Railways has approved the final location survey for doubling the Jammu–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway line, which spans approximately 78 km. The Northern Railway will oversee the execution of this project.

Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, stated that the survey, covering a 77.96-km stretch, will cost an estimated Rs 125.9 million. He emphasised that this step lays the groundwork for the construction of a future double-track railway line.

The proposed doubling is expected to enhance convenience and comfort for pilgrims travelling to the Vaishno Devi shrine. Beyond religious tourism, the line is also projected to strengthen the region's broader economic infrastructure.

Currently, the Jammu-Katra section operates as a single line through Udhampur under the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which limits operational flexibility. This constraint hampers the addition of new services and the ability to manage high traffic during peak pilgrimage periods.

The successful commissioning of the USBRL project has integrated the Kashmir Valley into the national railway grid, increasing passenger inflows. The Katra–Srinagar Vande Bharat Express, in particular, has received a strong response from both tourists and residents. Against this backdrop, the approval for the final location survey reflects the Railway Ministry’s commitment to addressing the region’s expanding transport demands.

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..