New Irrigation Network Planned Across 21 Punjab Constituencies

24 Apr 2025 CW Team

In an effort to ensure that all agricultural land in Punjab is irrigated using canal water, the state government has launched the second phase of its irrigation expansion initiative. The plan involves digging new channels and installing underground pipes to develop a 2,500-kilometre-long irrigation network across 21 Assembly constituencies.

The government has allocated Rs 8.93 billion for this purpose in the current financial year. Of this, Rs 2.5 billion will be received as a special assistance grant from the central government, while the remaining funds will be raised through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

This initiative follows the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s earlier efforts, which over the past two years focused on reviving 16,000 irrigation channels that had previously become defunct. However, implementation hurdles remain. The Water Resources Department is reportedly facing a shortage of cement concrete (CC) pipes. Out of the required 685,000 pipes, only 265,000 have been procured so far, slowing down progress on the project. The irrigation network aims to reduce reliance on groundwater and ensure equitable water distribution to farmlands, thereby supporting sustainable agriculture across Punjab.

Source: Tribune News Service

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..