India has taken a step towards cleaner farm mechanisation with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rolling out the country’s first testing standard for electric agricultural tractors. The new standard, IS 19262:2025 titled Electric Agricultural Tractors – Test Code, was released on December 24 by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi at Bharat Mandapam on the occasion of National Consumer Day, PTI reported. Developed by BIS, the standard lays down uniform testing protocols to assess the safety, reliability and performance of electric tractors, a segment seen as key to reducing emissions and operating costs in agriculture. The test code covers evaluation of power take-off (PTO), drawbar power, belt and pulley performance, vibration levels, and inspection of critical components and assemblies. It draws from existing standards for conventional diesel tractors and electric vehicles, suitably adapted for agricultural applications. “The implementation of this standard through authorised testing institutes would facilitate wider adoption of electric agricultural tractors, promote innovation in clean technologies, and contribute to reduced emissions,” an official statement said. Electric tractors, which run on battery packs instead of diesel engines, are seen as offering lower operating and maintenance costs, reduced noise and improved energy efficiency, while eliminating tailpipe emissions at the farm level due to fewer moving parts. The standard was framed following a request from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Mechanisation and Technology Division, with inputs from tractor manufacturers, testing agencies, research bodies and technical experts. Contributors included the ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Tractor and Mechanisation Association, and the Automotive Research Association of India. Although voluntary, the standard provides a scientific framework for evaluating the performance and safety of electric tractors. It is expected to support future acceptance criteria and conformity assessment schemes, while giving farmers greater confidence in adopting electric tractors as their use expands.

New Delhi: As many as 42 projects of the Indian Railways, including innovation, indigenisation, track renewals, electrification works, and “airport-like facilities” at redeveloped stations to redefine rail travel, worth over Rs 25,000 crore, were commissioned in 2025 to make passenger and freight trains safer and faster in the country, an official statement said on Sunday.

The New Year is all set to offer comfortable sleeper journeys in long-distance travels through Vande Bharat & Amrit Bharat trains, cutting short the journey time, as well as giving travellers the branded food & beverage options at railway stations, according to a year-end review released by the Ministry of Railways.

During the calendar year 2025, Indian Railways introduced 15 Vande Bharat Express trains. As on December 26, a total of 164 Vande Bharat train services are running across the Indian Railways network. Looking ahead, the upcoming Vande Bharat Sleeper is set to transform overnight travel. It will combine speed, comfort, and modern amenities for long-distance passengers.

Another 13 Amrit Bharat Express trains, which are fully non-AC trains, have also been introduced. A total of 30 Amrit Bharat train services are now running across the Indian Railways network to provide quality services to the common man.

Besides, Namo Bharat Rapid Rail Services are designed for high-frequency and regional connectivity, strengthening short and medium-distance mobility in high-demand corridors.

Landmark projects completed during the year include opening the country’s first vertical-lift rail bridge at Pamban, bolstering Kashmir connectivity with all-weather rail links (including the world’s highest Chenab bridge), and extending rail access into the Northeast with the new Bairabi–Sairang line.

Between April 1 and November 30, Indian Railways commissioned over 900 kilometres of new track lines. Besides laying the new tracks, the focus is to renew the existing rail tracks to ensure safer, faster and more comfortable travel. Track renewal works have been carried out across 6,880 track km, rails renewed with new rails, and complete track renewal for 7,051 track km has been done during the year, the statement said.

During the period 2014–25, a total of 34,428 km of new track was laid at an average of 8.57 km/day, which is more than twice the average daily commissioning (4.2 km/day) during the period 2009–14.

These modernisation efforts are complemented by the raising of sectional speeds to improve train operations and passenger convenience. Sectional speed has been increased to 130 kmph over 599 track km, covering parts of the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal, and other B routes. Further, speeds of 110 kmph have been achieved over 4,069 track km, combining infrastructure upgrades with advanced track machinery to ensure faster, safer, and more efficient train operations.

Electrification of the railway network has been taken up in mission mode. So far, about 99.2 per cent of the Broad Gauge (BG) network has been electrified. Electrification in the remaining network has been taken up. This achievement is significantly higher than the electrification levels of the UK (39 per cent), Russia (52 per cent) and China (82 per cent). A total of 14 Railway Zones and 25 states/Union Territories have now achieved 100 per cent electrification.

In FY 2025-26 (up to November 2025), more than 4,224 hi-tech LHB coaches were also produced, 18 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year. Between 2014-25, production increased 18-fold compared to 2004-14, ensuring safer, smoother and more comfortable journeys.

Indian Railways has made a major leap in modernisation by manufacturing over 42,600 LHB coaches in the last 11 years. LHB coaches are known for higher safety standards, lower maintenance costs and superior operational efficiency.

The Railways have also achieved remarkable progress in safety performance. Consequential Train Accidents during the period 2004-14 was 1711 (average 171 per annum), which has declined to 31 in 2024-25 and further to 11 in 2025-26 (up to November 2025). The safety budget has nearly tripled, rising from Rs 39,463 crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs 1,16,470 crore in the current financial year. Fog safety devices increased from 90 in 2014 to 25,939 in 2025. In the last four months alone, Centralised Electronic Interlocking and Track Circuiting have been completed at 21 stations, the statement said.

Kavach Version 4.0, the latest indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, has also been commissioned over 738 route kilometres. The safety system assists the Loco Pilot in operating trains within prescribed speed limits by automatically applying brakes in case of human failure and also enables safe train operations during adverse and inclement weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the 508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project has achieved physical progress of 55.63 per cent as on November 30, while overall financial progress has touched 69.62 per cent with an expenditure of Rs 85,801 crore, the statement added.

Satellite communication services in India will be rolled out only after operators meet security requirements and spectrum pricing is finalised, Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, adding that the government is also examining issues related to Vodafone Idea (Vi).In an interview to PTI, Scindia said players such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink, Eutelsat One and Jio Satellite Global Services (SGS) will get spectrum once the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) completes the pricing process and companies comply with security norms.“There are two issues that need to be addressed. One by the licence holders OneWeb, Reliance Jio, and Starlink, which is to comply with security clearances regarding international gateways, ensuring data remains in India, and so on,” Scindia said.He said the government has already allocated provisional spectrum to satcom companies to allow them to demonstrate compliance with security agencies. “They are in the process of doing that, so they need to comply,” he added.On spectrum pricing, Scindia said the matter is being handled by the DoT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). “Hopefully that should be resolved soon,” he said.Trai and the DoT have differed on several aspects of spectrum allocation for satcom services. Earlier this month, Trai rejected a number of DoT proposals, including levying a 5 per cent annual spectrum fee instead of 4 per cent and removing a Rs 500 per-connection charge in urban areas. The DoT is expected to place its views before the Digital Communication Commission (DCC), the apex decision-making body in the telecom sector, which will decide the future course of action, including whether Cabinet approval is required.On Vodafone Idea, Scindia said the department is still examining the company’s request for relief. “We are today applying our minds on that. It is work in progress within the Department of Telecommunications,” he said.Vodafone Idea has told the DoT that its liabilities to the government stand at around Rs 2 lakh crore, including Rs 1.19 lakh crore in spectrum dues. The company has warned that without support, the Centre could face losses due to non-recovery of dues and erosion of equity value. The Supreme Court has allowed the government to address the matter within its policy-making powers.Asked about concerns over repeated relief to Vi, Scindia said no such relief has been extended so far. “We have not given any relief as such. We have converted our dues into equity. Therefore, we hold a 49 per cent equity stake in Vodafone against dues of close to, if I recall correctly, Rs 37,000 crore. That is now the Government of India’s equity stake in that company,” he said.In the absence of further relief, Vodafone Idea is required to pay around Rs 18,000 crore by March 2026 and a similar amount annually for the next six years. Its annual liabilities are more than double its operational cash generation, which has been about Rs 8,400–9,200 crore over the past three years.Vi has warned that any threat to its operations could push the market into a duopoly and lead to higher telecom tariffs. Scindia, however, said India’s telecom market remains competitive.“If you look at countries across the world, very few can boast of four providers of telecom services. India today has four very robust telcos,” he said, adding that Vodafone Idea and BSNL together still serve over 300 million customers. “We would like to see that continue.”