Year of Cheetah and High-speed Trains: Here Are Projects Under Modi Regime that Set the Pace in 2022

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Be it expressways, cheetahs, fast trains, new airports, state-of-the-art bridges or religious corridors, India took a step in the right direction with these projects

Speed, movement and connectivity: 2022 was all about big-ticket projects allowing India to set the pace for progress tying in perfectly with the theme of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, an initiative launched to celebrate 75 years of Independence.

Cheetah, the fastest land animal, returned to India after decades of being declared extinct in 1952. But the big cat, which can reach up to a speed of 80 to 130 kmph, may not be a match to India’s second-generation Vande Bharat Express trains, five of which were launched amid much fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In fact, the seventh Vande Bharat train (Howrah to New Jalpaiguri) was virtually launched by the prime minister on Friday. He said new airports, waterways, ports and roads were being constructed to ensure seamless connectivity for people.

“We must make correct use of the potential of the nation to move forward in the 21st century,” Prime Minister Modi said, adding, “in this year of Azaadi ka Amrit Kaal, we will adopt a forward-looking approach to take the country ahead. The world is looking at India with great faith; every Indian has to exert himself to live up to this expectation.”

Be it expressways, cheetahs, fast trains, new airports, state-of-the-art bridges, or religious corridors, India took a step in the right direction with these projects in 2022.

Birthday bash: Cheetahs, National Logistics Policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated his 72nd birthday on September 18 by welcoming African cheetahs and launching the ambitious National Logistics Policy. The prime minister released eight cheetahs into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh as part of Project Cheetah, which he said is an endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation. The cheetahs – five female and three male and aged between 30 to 66 months – arrived in the country from Namibia by a special flight after a transcontinental journey of over 8,000 km.

Prime Minister Modi also unveiled the National Logistics Policy, which seeks to address challenges facing the transport sector and bring down the logistics cost of businesses from 13-14 percent to a single digit. He said the policy aims to expedite the last-mile delivery helping businesses save time and money, and that it addressed challenges of the logistics sector together with the infrastructure augmentation plan PM GatiShakti (launched in 2021).

Fast and furious: Vande Bharat trains

The PM launched five second-generation Vande Bharat trains in different parts of the country, the last of which he virtually launched on Friday. The semi high-speed express trains, which can reach a maximum speed of 130 kmph, are now running on seven routes. The trains launched on five new routes this year are: Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital, New Delhi-Amb Andaura, MGR Chennai Central-Mysuru Junction, Bilaspur-Nagpur, Howrah-New Jalpaiguri. The trains have state-of-the-art amenities and aim to give passengers a flight-like experience.

Road tripping: Bundelkhand Expressway, Samruddhi Mahamarg

Part of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, PM Modi inaugurated two major expressways – one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Maharashtra. The 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway was constructed at a cost Rs 14,850 crore and inaugurated in July. The four-lane expressway passes through seven districts of the state – Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.

In Maharashtra, Modi inaugurated the 520-km-long first phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Nagpur and Shirdi. Also known as the Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, this will be India’s longest operational expressway. Once all of it opens up, the six-lane expressway will reduce travel time between Nagpur and Maharashtra from 16 to eight hours.

With an aim to improve rural connectivity, the central government also launched initiatives such as the National Highway Development Project and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana this year.

Sea and space: INS Vikrant, virtual space museum

Modi commissioned INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier and largest warship, into the navy during a grand ceremony at Kochi in September. Built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, the INS Vikrant can accommodate 30 aircraft on board. On the occasion, he had said this was a reflection of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission’. He also unveiled the new naval ensign at the ceremony, saying in adopting it, India had removed a burden of slavery off its chest. Named after its predecessor, the new warship is a key addition to the navy’s arsenal and will help expand India’s maritime presence.

It was an important year for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which completed the first commercial mission of India’s heaviest launch vehicle. The space agency covered important milestones for Gaganyaan and launched India’s first high throughput satellite broadband service. It also launched India’s first virtual space museum in August, called SPARK. The prime minister recently shared images of Gujarat from space as ISRO released its first pictures of Earth captured by its Earth Observation Satellite OceanSat-3.

Temple run: Mahakaleshwar Corridor

The PM inaugurated the first phase of the Mahakaleshwar Corridor at Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, in September. He dedicated the ambitious Rs 856-crore project to the country, unveiling the large shivling covered in strands of sacred red threads at the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple, which houses one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Hindu deity Shiva. Devotees visiting the shrine will now be able to access better amenities via the Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor Development Project.

Kartavya first: Central Vista Project

Modi inaugurated the revamped Central Vista Avenue in September, and renamed it Kartavya Path from Rajpath. He also unveiled a statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at the India Gate hexagon. The Central Vista Avenue near the India Gate is part of the large-scale Central Vista Redevelopment. The project was first announced in 2019 and includes the construction of a new Parliament building as well as the renovation of several government buildings and creation of a new central secretariat. It is slated to be completed in 2024.

Flying colours: Airports in Goa, Itanagar, new terminal at Bengaluru

Modi inaugurated the first phase of the international airport at Mopa in North Goa earlier this month. He named Goa’s second airport after late chief minister Manohar Parrikar. The airport will be developed in four phases at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

In November, he also inaugurated the glitzy new terminal of the Kempegowda international airport in Bengaluru, which looks like a garden. Itanagar, the capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, got the Donyi Polo Airport also known as Hollongi Airport in the same month. Developed recently, this airport replaced the old Lilabari airport. The new airport has modern amenities and a runway that can accommodate larger aircraft.

Standing tall: Chenab arch bridge

Completed in 2021, the Chenab Arch Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir was inaugurated in August. The engineering marvel has been built over the Chenab River Valley and is the highest rail bridge in the world. The bridge runs for 359 m above the riverbed and is a key part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. The construction of the bridge began in 2002 and it can withstand earthquakes and extremely strong winds.