PUNE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for Pune Metro projects worth around Rs 21,800 crore, marking another major expansion of the city’s urban transport infrastructure.
A key highlight was the inauguration of the Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar metro corridor, which is expected to improve access to one of Pune’s biggest IT and business districts. The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a new metro line aimed at improving connectivity between the city’s older and newer areas.
The expansion is significant for Pune, which has emerged as a major centre for information technology, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and startups. Better public transport links could make daily commuting easier for employees, improve access to workplaces and support the movement of people across the growing urban region.
Addressing the event through video conferencing, Modi said improved metro connectivity would strengthen the city’s economic potential and make it easier for residents to access employment and other opportunities.
“A better-connected Pune is a faster-growing Pune,” he said, adding that metro expansion would improve the ease of living and give fresh momentum to the city’s development.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the economic significance of urban transport projects, saying that saving commuting time improves productivity and contributes to economic growth. He said investment in infrastructure generates employment for construction workers, engineers and businesses supplying materials and services.
The Pune projects are part of a wider expansion of metro infrastructure across the country. Modi said India’s operational metro network had grown to nearly 1,200 km across 26 cities over the past 12 years, serving more than one crore commuters daily.
Maharashtra has also seen a significant expansion. According to the Prime Minister, the state had around 10-11 km of operational metro lines in 2014. The network has since expanded to nearly 175 km, while more than 680 km of metro lines are under construction, involving investments exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
The newly inaugurated Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar corridor has another notable feature: it was developed under the public-private partnership model, bringing together government and private-sector participation.
Modi said the project demonstrated how public and private investment could work together to strengthen urban infrastructure.
Beyond Pune, the Prime Minister used the occasion to underline the need to develop smaller cities as new centres of economic activity. He said urban centres should no longer be viewed merely as residential spaces but as engines of economic growth.
He referred to the Urban Challenge Fund, approved in February 2026, which has Rs 1 lakh crore in central assistance to mobilise larger investments in urban infrastructure. He called on local bodies and private-sector partners to participate in the initiative.
For Pune, however, the long-term test will be whether metro expansion translates into a more convenient and reliable public transport system. Improved access to stations, last-mile connectivity and integration with other modes of transport will be important in encouraging more commuters to leave their private vehicles behind.
The Prime Minister said the country’s next phase of infrastructure development would focus on making cities globally competitive and improving the quality of urban life.
