Overview

On July 8, 2026, Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Shri Ajay Tamta presented the 2026 RAHSTA Awards to 24 road‑building and equipment companies at the 16th RAHSTA Expo held at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. The ceremony recognised excellence across construction, technology, safety, sustainability and project delivery.

Government Statements

Mr. Tamta emphasized that “Technology is becoming central to highway development” but cautioned that not all technologies suit every terrain, noting that tunnel‑boring machines (TBM) used by MMRDA are unsuitable for fragile or hilly regions where controlled blasting is required. Bidur Kant Jha, Director – New Technology for Highway Development, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, outlined MoRTH’s structured framework for adopting proven technologies, stating that new solutions must secure Indian Roads Congress (IRC) accreditation and demonstrate performance through pilot projects before broader implementation. Founder of the FIRST Construction Council, Pratap Padode, highlighted the breadth of innovative work across the country and announced that the next RAHSTA Expo will be held on May 20‑22, 2027.

Special Recognition

The highest honour, the Special Recognition Award, was presented to Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee (IAS), Metropolitan Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), for his leadership in expanding Mumbai’s underground tunnel network and integrating road, metro and bus systems.

Award Winners

  • 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, 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 Winners: J. Kumar Infraprojects and 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

Expo and Exhibitors

The awards were held on the sidelines of the 16th RAHSTA Expo, which featured exhibitors such as Terex, Caterpillar, Tata Hitachi, Dynapac, Liugong, Alltech, SRMB, Elegant, Electrotherm, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Maccaferri, UP Invest, MMRDA, Monte Carlo, Zydex and many others.

Future Event

The next RAHSTA Expo is scheduled for May 20‑22, 2027. Interested participants can contact the regional representatives – Ninad (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Indore, Pune, East) at 8657758122, Anupama (South and Pune) at 8422874045, or Chandrashekhar (Mumbai & North) at 8652493000; email addresses are provided in the release.