PUNE, November 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the Hinjawadi–Shivajinagar metro corridor in Pune and laid the foundation stone for new metro work in the city, in projects worth around ₹21,800 crore, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. He spoke by video conference and said the corridor, built under a public-private partnership, will link Pune’s biggest IT hub with the city centre.
Key highlights
- The projects inaugurated and started on Tuesday are worth around ₹21,800 crore.
- The Hinjawadi–Shivajinagar corridor connects the Hinjawadi IT hub, and the new line started on Tuesday will further link the old and new parts of the city, the PM said.
- The corridor was built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
- Maharashtra had 10–11 km of metro lines in 2014; it now has about 175 km in service and more than 680 km under construction, with investment of over ₹2.5 lakh crore, the PM said.
- India’s metro network is nearly 1,200 km across 26 cities and carries over one crore passengers a day, he said.
Metro in numbers, as stated by the PM
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Value of Pune projects (Nov 3) | About ₹21,800 crore |
| Maharashtra metro in service, 2014 | 10–11 km |
| Maharashtra metro in service, now | About 175 km |
| Maharashtra metro under construction | Over 680 km |
| Investment in Maharashtra metro work | Over ₹2.5 lakh crore |
| India’s metro network | Nearly 1,200 km in 26 cities |
| Daily metro riders, India | Over one crore |
| Urban Challenge Fund (approved February 2026) | ₹1 lakh crore in central assistance |
What the PM said
Modi recalled that he laid the foundation stone of the first phase of the Pune Metro ten years ago. He said cities are now judged by competitiveness and ease of living, and that metros save commuters time, which raises productivity. He said the Urban Challenge Fund, approved in February with ₹1 lakh crore in central support, is meant to draw private and municipal investment so that hundreds of smaller towns can become growth hubs.
He also referred to the hardship facing Maharashtra’s farmers because of drought and bad weather, mentioned the state’s advance assistance and PM-KISAN payments, and told farmers the government stood with them. He repeated the World Bank’s finding that India has cut extreme poverty sharply; our report on that brief has the figures.
Our calculation
- Maharashtra’s growth: going from 10–11 km to about 175 km is a rise of roughly 16 to 17 times since 2014.
- Pipeline: the 680-plus km under construction is about 3.9 times the length now running in the state.
- Share of India: Maharashtra’s 175 km is about 15% of India’s nearly 1,200 km network.
What it means
For Pune, the corridor is aimed at one of its worst daily commutes, between the city and the Hinjawadi IT parks on its western edge. If ridership builds, it could cut road congestion on that route. The PPP model is also a test: if a line built with private partners works well, more states may use it to fund metro lines without carrying the full cost themselves.
What to watch
- Ridership on the Hinjawadi–Shivajinagar corridor in its first months.
- The timeline for the new line whose foundation stone was laid on Tuesday.
- How Maharashtra’s 680-plus km of metro work is phased and funded.
File photo: A Pune Metro train. Image: Berlindian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo source · Licence
Sources
- PIB (Prime Minister’s Office): PM inaugurates and lays foundation stone of Pune Metro projects worth around ₹21,800 crore (November 3, 2026)
- PIB (Prime Minister’s Office): English rendering of PM’s address at the Pune Metro event (November 3, 2026)
The National Desk covers India's politics, governance, security and public-interest news. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
