The two-day National Symposium on 'Geosynthetics for Performance Enhancement and Distress Mitigation in Highways and Railways' was inaugurated at CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) Auditorium in New Delhi on September 7, 2026. Jointly organized by CSIR-CRRI and the Geosynthetics Society (GS), Pune, the event brought together leading policymakers, infrastructure authorities, geotechnical specialists, and industry experts to address critical engineering solutions for national highway networks, high-speed rail lines, and strategic mountain corridors.
During the inaugural session, Ms. Minimol Korulla, Vice President of Geosynthetics Society, emphasized the necessity of standardizing field practices and adopting advanced geosynthetic materials to improve durability of geotechnical structures. Dr. Chalumuri Ravi Sekhar, Director of CSIR-CRRI, stated that geosynthetics have emerged as core design imperatives for sustainable, resilient, and high-performance transportation corridors in India's multimodal infrastructure growth story.
Shri Amarendra Kumar, Director of National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), elaborated on the deployment of geosynthetic ground engineering solutions in challenging terrains, particularly their application in the construction and stabilization of retaining structures. Shri Vivek Bhushan Sood, Executive Director of Railway Board, addressed Indian Railways' modernization initiatives, considering geosynthetics as an efficient reinforcing material for infrastructure advancement.
The technical agenda for Day 1 featured multiple sessions including a panel discussion on 'Mainstreaming Reinforced Soil Walls in India – Policy, Codes, and Best Practices' moderated by Prof. Ashish Juneja from IIT Bombay, with participation from NHAI (Mr. L.M. Padhy), MoRTH (Mr. Bidur Kant Jha), IIT Gandhinagar (Prof. Amit Prashant), CSIR-CRRI (Dr. Kanwar Singh), and G Cube consulting engineers LLP (Ms. Dola Roychowdhury). Another technical session chaired by Dr. Ratnakar Mahajan from Maccaferri Environmental Solutions showcased real-world case studies and best practices in geogrid-reinforced walls, with presentations from Prof. B.V.S. Viswanadham (IIT Bombay), Dr. P.S. Prasad (CSIR-CRRI), Dr. Alok Bhowmick (B&S Engineering Consultants), and Ms. Atasi Das (G R Infraprojects Ltd.).
The second day of the symposium scheduled for September 8, 2026, will feature continued sessions on geosynthetics for resilient rail infrastructure with case studies from industry experts including Dr. Apoorva Aggarwal (Geoquest India Pvt. Ltd.), Dr. Ratnakar Mahajan (Maccaferri Environmental Solutions), Mr. Shailesh Garg (TechFab India Industries Ltd.), and Mr. Suraj Vedpathak (Strata Geosystems India Pvt. Ltd.). Additional sessions will cover sustainable pavement stabilization, granular and bituminous layer reinforcement, geogrid-reinforced asphalt overlays, end-of-life plastic geocells for green pavements, and subsurface drainage solutions. Prof. David Frost, President of the Geosynthetics Institute and Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, will deliver an online lecture on 'Cradle to Grave Considerations for the Resilient Performance of Geosynthetics in Transportation Infrastructure'.