Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Ajay Tamta, presented the RAHSTA Awards to 24 companies at the 16th RAHSTA Expo held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai on July 8, 2026. The awards recognised excellence in road construction, technology, innovation, safety, and sustainability.
Key Winners and Special Recognition
Among the winners were Mhari Sadak from Haryana Public Works Department, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), GHV Infra Projects, Ceigall, Welspun, L&T, Rajpath Infracon, Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, and J Kumar Infraprojects. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Tata Hitachi, Dynapac, Terex Powerscreen, and Escorts Kubota also received accolades, along with product manufacturers like Zydex and Tata Steel.
Special Recognition Awards were presented to Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee (IAS), Metropolitan Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), for his leadership in advancing the underground tunnel network across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Dr. Mukherjee highlighted the importance of integrated urban planning and multimodal mobility, noting that Mumbai's infrastructure success has been driven by coordinated efforts across engineering, planning, and execution teams.
Minister's Emphasis on Technology
"Technology is becoming central to highway development," stated Minister Ajay Tamta. However, he cautioned that not all technologies are suitable for every ecosystem. "Technologies like TBM used by MMRDA in Mumbai cannot be used in fragile terrains and hilly regions. There we must use blasting which also needs to be tempered to protect the ecology," he explained.
Bidur Kant Jha, Director of New Technology for Highway Development at the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, highlighted how innovation and emerging technologies are transforming the design, construction, and management of India's highways, making them safer, smarter, and more resilient. He noted that the Ministry has established a structured framework for adopting proven technologies, alternative materials, and innovative designs. New technologies must obtain Indian Roads Congress (IRC) accreditation and demonstrate their performance through pilot projects before wider implementation.
RAHSTA Awards 2026 Category Winners
The full list of winners includes:
- Best Earthmoving Equipment for Road: Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery
- Best Compaction Equipment: FRED India (Formerly Dynapac Road Construction Equipment)
- Most Innovative Road Construction Equipment: Powerscreen
- Most Sustainable Road Construction Equipment: Alltech India
- Best Equipment for Productivity Enhancement: Escorts Kubota
- Most Innovative Road Construction Material – Rank 1: Zydex Industries
- Most Innovative Road Construction Material – Rank 2: Ramuka Global and CSIR – CRRI
- Best Sustainable / Low-Carbon Material for Roads: Tata Steel Ltd Industrial By-Products Management Division
- Best Road Safety Technology – Rank 1: Border Roads Organisation
- Best Road Safety Technology – Rank 2: Subtronics (India)
- RAHSTA Excellence in Innovation: L&T Transportation Infrastructure IC
- Outstanding Contribution to Road Infrastructure: Mhari Sadak Application from Haryana Public Works Department
- Best Smart Highway/Intelligent Transport Solution – Rank 1: Salaipudhur Madurai Tollway, SPV of Cube Highways
- Best Smart Highway/Intelligent Transport Solution – Rank 2: Zen Microsystems
- Best Bridge Execution: Welspun Enterprises
- Best Tunnel Execution: Border Roads Organisation
- Emerging Contractor of the Year: GHV Infra Projects
- Excellence in Project Execution (Timely Delivery): Ceigall India
- Excellence in Highway Construction – Joint winner: J. Kumar Infraprojects
- Excellence in Highway Construction – Joint winner: Rajpath Infracon
- Best Highway Project (BOT / HAM / PPP): Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon
- Green Highway Developer of the Year: INTERISE
- Excellence in Highway Asset Management: Ghaziabad Aligarh Expressway, SPV of Cube Highways
- Jury Award for Excellence in Highway Asset Management: Roadstar Investment Managers
Industry Impact and Future Events
Founder of FIRST Construction Council, Pratap Padode, expressed satisfaction with the discovery of outstanding work across the country. "Many companies, some well-known and some quietly doing exceptional work, have demonstrated remarkable achievements in execution, technology, innovation, materials, safety, sustainability and project delivery," he said. He also announced that the next RAHSTA Expo will be held on May 20-22, 2027.
The discussions reinforced a common message: creating safer roads requires more than infrastructure investment—it demands visionary leadership, engineering excellence, and continuous innovation. The RAHSTA Awards 2026 sought to recognise this spirit.
