New Delhi: The expenditure on India’s 1,847 major infrastructure projects, currently being implemented by the Centre, has reached Rs 21.97 lakh crore (as of June 2026), which represents over 54 per cent of the total investment of Rs 40.54 lakh crore earmarked for these mega projects, reflecting steady progress in the pace of work, according to a factsheet issued by the government on Monday.

Many projects have reached advanced stages of completion, with around 709 projects exceeding 80 per cent physical progress, while another 337 projects have passed 80 per cent of financial completion, the factsheet states.

The transport and logistics sector leads with the 1,341 projects worth Rs 22.32 lakh crore, reflecting the focus on connectivity.

These projects are playing a crucial role in pushing up the country’s economic growth rate and creating more jobs.

Efficient monitoring of infrastructure projects is being carried out through PAIMANA (Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring and Analytics for Nation-Building) digital platform. Developed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), PAIMANA is used for monitoring ongoing Central Sector infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore or more.

In addition to strengthening project monitoring, PAIMANA has expanded its role to support infrastructure performance monitoring through a dedicated Performance Monitoring Dashboard which was launched on April 16, 2026.

The Performance Monitoring Dashboard brings together performance indicators across key infrastructure sectors in a unified digital platform. The indicators are compiled from official data provided by the concerned Ministries and Departments and are updated periodically based on the latest available information.

A detailed indicator framework spans six infrastructure sub-sectors. These are Power, Civil Aviation, Telecommunications, Railways, Roads, and Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The Performance Monitoring Dashboard has now been expanded to 165 indicators. This expansion includes the addition of 54 new indicators, significantly enhancing the comprehensiveness of infrastructure performance monitoring.

A single digital interface allows monitoring of performance sector by sector. It offers interactive visualisation and time-series analysis for policymakers, researchers and stakeholders.

A centralised dashboard delivers one cross-sector view of infrastructure sectors. This capability deepens inter-sectoral analysis.

The current framework gauges sectoral performance through growth rates. It reviews year-on-year, month-on-month and cumulative growth, targets and capacity utilisation in chosen sectors, the official statement added.

Ranchi, Aug 10: The Jharkhand students’ march towards the state Assembly intensified on Monday as security forces used water cannons after student protesters broke through police barricades.

A protester climbed atop a police barricade as the Assembly march by JPSC-JSSC aspirants gained momentum. Thousands of students are marching towards the New Assembly building to press their demands over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto said concerns of students were more important than his personal health condition.

“The future of the students here is being compromised, which is more painful than my health. It is deeply painful,” Mahto said.

Speaking further, he added, “My health is not more important than the future of the students whose opportunities are allegedly being sold. My health is very weak, but the situation is even more distressing. The future of lakhs of students is being continuously compromised.”

Mahto also said that the hunger strike launched by student leaders would continue until their demands were addressed.

“The hunger strike is still going on, and it will continue. We are heading towards the Assembly right now. The government should wake up and respond to the concerns of students,” he said.

A protesting student, Chandan Kumar, told media that student representatives had held discussions with ministers over the past two days.

“Yesterday, I was part of the delegation team and spoke to ministers for two consecutive days. Around 80 per cent of our demands were accepted, while the remaining 20 per cent were not. We demanded the cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination and action regarding pending recruitment backlogs from 2023 to 2025,” he said.

Meanwhile, BJP Jharkhand president Aditya Sahu and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, along with party MLAs and workers, staged a sit-in protest outside Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence. Police later detained the BJP leaders and legislators who were participating in the demonstration.

Reacting to the issue, BJP Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam said the students’ concerns should be considered sympathetically.

“Everyone knows who is in power in Jharkhand. Have they met the protesting students so far? I believe the students’ demands should be considered sympathetically, just as the Government of India has done in similar situations. The Union government has also taken prompt action whenever necessary,” Nikam said.

Speaking to media, City SP Paras Rana said, “We have not prepared to stop the gherao. We have prepared for any violent situation or if someone tries to create a ruckus. If students come peacefully, the police will also remain peaceful. Our team will also deal with the situation peacefully.”

Jharkhand Minister Deepika Pandey Singh said the state government would allow JPSC-JSSC aspirants to protest peacefully and assured that pellet guns, tear gas, or lathi-charge would not be used against them.

She said the administration was taking all necessary measures to maintain law and order during the Vidhan Sabha gherao. Referring to the talks with student representatives, Singh said discussions had continued for several hours over the past four days and that the government had agreed to nearly all demands within its jurisdiction.

However, she noted that the students’ demand for the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination was linked to judicial directives and could not be decided solely by the state government.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Police suspect that a Bengaluru-based techie who went missing from the historic Shivagange Hill in Bengaluru Rural district may have planned to take his own life, with investigators recovering searches from his laptop that allegedly indicate he had researched the consequences of falling from the hill.

The missing techie, identified as Advait Upadhyaya, a native of Indore in Madhya Pradesh who was residing in Kadugodi in Bengaluru, went missing after arriving at Shivagange for trekking on Friday.

A major search operation has been underway for the past three days, involving the police, fire and emergency services, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other personnel. Teams are searching the difficult terrain of Shivagange Hill using drones and other modern equipment.

According to police sources, the investigation has revealed several details that have strengthened the suspicion that Upadhyaya may have planned to take the extreme step.

Police recovered a laptop from his residence and managed to access it during the investigation. They allegedly found that Upadhyaya had used an AI tool to search for information about the time it would take to die if he fell from Shivagange Hill.

Investigators also found searches relating to the height of the hill and the possible consequences of a fall. According to the police, an AI-generated response suggested that a person falling from the hill at around 7.30 a.m. could potentially die.

Based on these searches and other evidence gathered during the investigation, police suspect that Upadhyaya may have travelled to Shivagange on August 4 itself, ahead of his planned trekking trip on August 7.

On August 7, Upadhyaya reportedly began trekking at Shivagange. Soon after starting the trek, he sent a photograph to a woman to whom he was engaged. He subsequently became unreachable.

Police have also obtained a photograph of Upadhyaya taken by another tourist while he was reportedly at the hilltop. Investigators are examining the photograph and other available evidence to establish his movements before he went missing.

The search operation is being led by Nelamangala Town Circle Inspector Bharat Gowda and involves police personnel, SDRF teams and experts familiar with the difficult terrain.

The teams are using drone cameras to scan inaccessible portions of the hill and are searching narrow, deep and steep sections where a person could potentially be trapped or have fallen.

The Shantala Drop, a popular tourist spot atop Shivagange, is one of the most challenging areas for search teams because of its steep terrain and difficult access.

Officials are continuing the search while examining technical and other evidence to determine exactly what happened to Upadhyaya.

Police have not yet confirmed that Upadhyaya has died and are continuing efforts to locate him. The search operation is likely to continue until the missing techie is traced.