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The Union Minister for Housing, Urban Affairs and Power announced that India's metro expansion is progressing rapidly to ease congestion and improve last-mile connectivity. Speaking at the 18th Urban Mobility India Conference in Gurugram, he said a separate licence for feeder services will no longer be needed, as these will be integrated within metro service licences. The minister emphasised scaling up electric vehicle adoption and rapid-charging infrastructure, citing India's surplus power capacity. Several state and city bodies, including Chennai MTC, Kochi Metro, and DMRC, received awards for excellence in urban transport. The next Urban Mobility India Conference will be held in Bhubaneswar in October 2026, themed 'Urban Accessibility and Livability in the Digital Age.'
The Union Minister for Housing, Urban Affairs and Power stated that metro-network expansion across India's key urban areas is under way with the aim of tackling traffic congestion and boosting last-mile commutes. He said that the government has decided that a separate licence for last-mile connectivity services will no longer be required, since these services will be integrated within the metro service licence itself. This move is intended to simplify operations of feeder services so they become part of the metro ecosystem. Advertisement
The minister spoke during the closing session of the three-day 18th Urban Mobility India Conference & Exhibition held in Gurugram. He stressed that the conference was not merely for discussion, but is moving into implementation of expert recommendations. He underlined the necessity of increasing the number of electric vehicles and deploying robust charging infrastructure, drawing attention to India's surplus power supply as an enabler of this expansion. He also urged adoption of rapid-charging technologies such as superchargers and flagged the importance of addressing parking challenges in cities, identifying locations like Delhi as needing priority action.
During the event, several state, UT and city-level bodies received recognition for excellence in urban transport. Among them, the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation was awarded for best public transport system; Udaipur Smart City got recognition for non-motorised transport; Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation received an award for innovative financing; the Kochi Metro Rail Limited and Chennai Metro Rail Limited were honoured for multi-modal integration; the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was recognised for best passenger service; and West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation together with Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation shared the trophy for best urban transport project in the preceding year. A special mention was awarded to the Capital Region Urban Transport authority in Bhubaneswar and the Town & Country Planning Department in Mizoram received an award for traffic management.
He also announced that the 19th Urban Mobility India Conference & Exhibition will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from October 23 to 25, 2026, under the theme 'Urban Accessibility and Livability in the Digital Age'.
The minister referenced past progress by noting that prior to 2014, metro expansion was modest, but recent years have seen rapid acceleration in metro-line construction and network growth, underscoring the government's commitment to urban mobility reform. He pointed out that planned transport systems similar to the Regional Rapid Transit System are to be developed in other major cities, reinforcing the shift from planning to execution.
Source PTI
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