New Delhi, July 28: In a significant step towards strengthening railway infrastructure and enhancing network capacity, Indian Railways has sanctioned the upgradation of the electric traction system on the Parbhani-Mudkhed double line section in Nanded division of South Central Railway, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday.

The project, which also includes associated power supply installation works, has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 163 crore, converting the existing 1×25 kV electric traction system to a more advanced 2×25 kV system over a stretch of 164 track kilometres, supported by upgraded power supply infrastructure to meet the enhanced electrical load, the statement said.

The Parbhani-Mudkhed section forms part of the strategically important Highly Utilised Network (HUN) Route-9, connecting Ajmer-Indore-Khandwa-Akola-Purna-Mudkhed-Secunderabad-Mahbubnagar-Dhone.

The upgraded traction system will strengthen power supply for train operations, enabling the section to handle higher freight volumes and support the running of Vande Bharat Express trains. It will also contribute to Indian Railways’ goal of achieving 3,000 million tonnes of freight loading by 2029-30, the statement said.

The project is part of the continuing efforts of Indian Railways to modernise electrical infrastructure and improve operational efficiency on high-density corridors across the country.

The country has emerged as the global leader with the largest electrified railway network in the world. With 99.6 per cent electrification of the country’s broad gauge track network, India is second only to Switzerland which has 100 per cent railway electrification, but the network is much smaller, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha earlier this month.

India’s railway network electrification is ahead of China (82 per cent), Spain 67 (per cent), Japan (64 per cent), France (60 per cent) the United Kingdom (39 per cent).

Indian Railways has undertaken one of the fastest railway electrification programmes in the world.

Electrification of the track network on Indian Railways has been taken up in mission mode with a massive 48,072 route km being electrified between 2014-2026. This represents a sharp acceleration compared to the 21,801 route km that was electrified in the 60 years before this period, the minister stated.

New Delhi, July 28: Indian companies score above global peers on AI readiness but only 19 per cent have started changing office space and operations to reflect that, with a 58‑point gap between recognition and execution, a report said.

The report from JLL said 77 per cent of Indian business leaders recognise AI will need changes implemented in the workspace.

“AI will add jobs, not cut them, according to India’s business leaders, but a shortage of skills, not money, is now the biggest hurdle to change,” the report said.

Nearly 58 per cent respondents expect workforce growth over the next three to five years and 62 per cent said AI will make human roles more valuable rather than replace them.

The survey of over 2,200 CEOs, CFOs and real estate heads across 21 countries found “Indian companies are ahead of the rest of the world in putting AI to use in how they plan and run their offices”.

India scored higher than the global average on all eight AI-related measures tracked.

“For the first time in 15 years of tracking this data, 46 per cent of Indian companies cite skills shortage as their primary barrier versus only 35 per cent citing budget, capability now outweighs cost,” said Ajit Kumar – Managing Director, Work Dynamics Accounts, West Asia, JLL.

Kumar mentioned the skills gap as a positive inflection point, because skills can be developed internally and sourced externally far more readily than waiting for capital allocation cycles.

“The companies that reframe this as a skills development challenge rather than a budget constraint—and invest in the 50 per cent who are prioritizing AI support and infrastructure—will define India’s workplace transformation over the next decade,” he added.

Nearly 56 per cent of India firms track AI trends against 46 per cent globally and 45 per cent Indian companies run staff training and change programmes against the global average of 36 per cent.

“Nearly one in five Indian companies (19 per cent) say they have reached the most advanced stage of using AI in their real estate operations, against 15 per cent globally. Counting those still scaling up, 47 per cent are actively rolling out AI, against 42 per cent worldwide,” the report said.

New Delhi, July 28: Tata Group-owned Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express reported a combined net loss of Rs 22,238 crore in FY26, more than double the Rs 10,859 crore loss recorded in the previous financial year, even as their combined revenue declined nearly 9 per cent.

According to the airlines’ annual reports, the combined revenue stood at Rs 71,870 crore in FY26.

Air India posted revenue of Rs 51,452 crore and a net loss of Rs 15,368 crore, while Air India Express reported revenue of Rs 19,088 crore and a net loss of Rs 6,767 crore.

Air India is currently owned 73.82 per cent by Tata Sons, 25.1 per cent by Singapore Airlines and 1.08 per cent by employees under a share benefit scheme created during the airline’s privatisation in 2022.

Addressing shareholders, Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said the carrier’s transformation should be viewed as a long-term exercise, stressing that building a world-class global airline cannot be achieved within a few quarters.

“Every great airline in history was built over decades, not quarters,” Chandrasekaran wrote in his message to shareholders.

He said Air India’s transformation should be seen as a five- to 10-year journey, given the condition in which the airline was acquired, prolonged supply chain disruptions affecting aircraft components, the need to modernise legacy systems and processes, renew the fleet, reshape the organisational culture and build a large pool of skilled technical and aviation professionals.

However, his comments indicate that the airline’s turnaround is likely to take longer than initially anticipated as the Tata Group continues its multi-billion-dollar investment to revive the national carrier following its acquisition from the government in 2022.

Earlier in the month, Air India had appointed UK-based aircraft marketing and asset management firm Skytech-AIC to oversee the sale of six Airbus A319 aircraft.