16th Edition · Early-bird passes closing soon — register free
Jio World Convention Centre Mumbai    8–9 July 2026
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RAHSTA Conference 2026

The conversations
that shape India's roads.

3 days. 5 parallel tracks. 80+ sessions. The Minister, the Chairman of NHAI, 12+ state PWD secretaries, global CEOs and the engineers who actually build the roads — all on one stage.

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Conference sessions
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Speakers & panellists
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Days of programming
Conference Tracks

5 tracks. Pick the room that matters.

Programming is built bottom-up from a 200-person advisory council of working engineers, contractors and policymakers — not a marketing team.

T1

Policy & Investment

Gati Shakti, NHAI's 25-year highway plan, BOT vs. HAM economics, viability gap funding, multilateral capital. Where the tenders come from.

T2

Materials & Pavement Tech

Modified bitumen, perpetual pavements, warm-mix, cold recycling, geosynthetics, end-of-life tyre asphalt, plastic roads. The chemistry of the next decade.

T3

Smart Mobility & Digital

FASTag 2.0, ANPR, ITS architecture, BIM mandates, AI inspection, drone-based asset management, EV charging corridors.

T4

Project Execution

Time and cost overruns, contract management, risk allocation, dispute resolution, claims, EPC vs. HAM lessons-learned. The CRO's track.

T5

Safety & Sustainability

iRAP audits, Vision Zero, climate-resilient design, EPDs, decarbonising road construction, embodied-carbon benchmarking, ESG & green bonds.

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Plenary & Keynotes

Cross-track plenaries — Day-1 inaugural, India outlook, CEO roundtable, fireside chats with global infrastructure leaders.

Day-by-day

2 days, mapped.

8th & 9th July 2026 · JIO Convention Centre, Mumbai · 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM

10:00 – 10:25 am
Inaugural Keynote — India's Highways at an Inflection Point: From Expansion to Value Creation
India’s road sector is entering a decisive phase – where scale alone is no longer enough. As fiscal pressures rise and project complexity increases, the focus is shifting from rapid expansion to long-term value, efficiency, and asset performance.

  • NHAI’s fiscal realities and the future of public funding
  • From kilometre expansion to value-driven corridor development
  • Monetisation, InVITs and the evolving role of private capital
  • What the next growth model for highways must look like
Keynote
10:25 – 11:15 am
Panel Discussion 1 — Financing Roads & Highways in a Capital-Constrained Era
With capital becoming more selective and risks more visible, financing India’s highways is undergoing a structural reset. This session brings together investors, developers and policymakers to examine what will be the next wave of funding.

  • The future of InVITs and asset recycling in India (Raajmarg Infra InvIT and similar structures)
  • Investor expectations: risk allocation, returns and governance
  • Is the current bidding environment financially sustainable?
  • Global lessons in financing large-scale infrastructure
T1 · Policy
11:15 am – 12:05 pm
Panel Discussion 2 — Contractors’ Perspective: Execution Realities, Risks & the Quality Imperative
Behind every project milestone lies a complex web of execution challenges. As projects become more demanding and margins tighter, contractors are being forced to rethink risk, quality and participation strategies.

  • Project slowdown: reality, perception, and pipeline uncertainty
  • Working capital stress, margins and risk recalibration
  • NHAI vs State ecosystems: payments, processes and predictability
  • Deep discounting, L1 pressures and long-term project viability
  • Standardisation gaps, disputes and accountability frameworks
T4 · Execution
12:05 – 12:25 pm
Opening Ceremony (VIP Window)

  • Lamp Lighting
  • Welcome Address
  • Address by Chief Guest / Government Dignitary
  • Formal Conference Opening
Plenary
12:25 – 12:30 pm
Day 1 Wrap-up

  • Key messages from policy, finance and execution discussions
  • Setting the context for industry recognition and awards
Plenary
12:30 – 2:30 pm
Networking Lunch & Delegate Transition
Social
3:00 – 3:45 pm
Registration for Awards
Awards
4:00 – 7:30 pm
RAHSTA Awards & Construction World Most Admired Brands Awards
Including RAHSTA Awards – Sustainable Roads, Smart Highways, Safety & Innovation
Awards
9:30 – 10:00 am
Global Keynote — Global Roads & Highways: What India Must Adopt – Not Reinvent
As one of the fastest-growing infrastructure markets, India has the opportunity to leapfrog by adopting proven global practices rather than reinventing them.

  • Global best practices in road, bridge and tunnel development
  • Lessons from infrastructure failures and recoveries
  • Digital twins, safety governance and asset intelligence
  • Where India must accelerate adoption v/s experimentation
Keynote
10:00 - 11:15 am
Panel Discussion 1 — Designing Roads for Sustainability, Durability & Climate Resilience
The future of road infrastructure lies in building assets that last longer, perform better, and withstand climate stress – while optimising lifecycle costs.

  • Lifecycle-based design vs lowest-cost construction
  • Low-carbon materials and climate-resilient pavements
  • Scaling alternative materials: plastic waste, slag, fly ash
  • Bridging the gap between global standards and Indian practices
  • From specification-based to performance-driven design
T5 · Sustainability
11:15 – 11:30 am
Tea Break
T4 · Social
11:30 am – 12:45 pm
Panel Discussion 2 — Bridges & Tunnels: Complex Engineering, Safety & Future Readiness
As India moves toward more complex and high-value infrastructure, bridges and tunnels are becoming critical to connectivity – but also to risk.

  • Structural health monitoring, sensors and predictive systems
  • Why infrastructure fails: design, execution or governance?
  • India’s tunnel pipeline and the challenge of scale
  • TBM dependency and the need for domestic capability
  • Integrating roads with rail and multi-modal infrastructure
T4 · Execution
12:45 – 1:45 pm
Networking Lunch
Social
1:45 – 3:00 pm
Panel Discussion 3 — Technology as a Risk-Mitigation Tool for Developers & Investors
Technology is no longer optional – it is central to reducing risk, improving asset performance, and building investor confidence.

  • AI-driven monitoring across the project lifecycle
  • Digital twins and intelligent corridor management
  • Predictive maintenance and lifecycle optimisation
  • Is technology ahead of policy and procurement frameworks?
  • Building lender confidence through data-driven infrastructure
T3 · Digital
3:00 – 3:15 pm
Coffee Break
T4 · Social
3:15 – 4:30 pm
Panel Discussion 4 — Construction Equipment & Technology: Driving Productivity Under Pressure
With tighter margins and rising expectations, construction efficiency is under scrutiny. Equipment innovation and workforce capability will define project outcomes.

  • Smart equipment, telematics and automation
  • Reducing fuel consumption and improving sustainability
  • Workforce skill gaps and site-level execution challenges
  • Cost pressures vs technology adoption
  • The future of semi-autonomous and intelligent machinery
T2 · Materials
4:30 - 5:30 pm
High-Level Roundtable — Rebuilding Confidence in India's Roads & Highways
A decisive dialogue bringing together key stakeholders to address the sector’s most pressing structural challenges.

Outcome-driven discussion on:
  • Strengthening quality assurance and accountability frameworks
  • Bridging the gap between policy intent and on-ground execution
  • Governance, transparency and industry responsibility
  • Enabling sustainable financing and investor confidence
  • Accelerating technology adoption across the ecosystem
Plenary
5:30 – 6:00
Conference Closing
  • Key takeaways and strategic insights
  • Announcement of post-conference White Paper
  • Vote of Thanks
Closing
Guest of Honour
Mr. Bidur Kant Jha
Guest of Honour

Shri. Sanjay Sethi, IAS

Additional Chief Secretary

Transport & Ports

Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee
Guest of Honour

Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, IAS

MMRDA Commissioner

Govt of Maharashtra

Keynote Speaker
Mr. Bidur Kant Jha
Keynote

Mr. Bidur Kant Jha

Director, New Technology for Highway Development

MoRT&H

Speakers
Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry
Speaker

Lt Gen (Retd) Rajeev Chaudhry

Former DG Border Roads Organisation, Chairman

RAHSTA EXPO Committee

Mr. DK Sen
Speaker

Mr. DK Sen

Advisor to CMD, Development Projects & Minerals & Metals

L&T

Ajay Hans
Speaker

Ajay Hans

Managing Director

GHV Infra Projects

Col. Parikshit Mehra
Speaker

Col. Parikshit Mehra

Secretary

Government of Telangana

Mr. Rajesh Chaabra
Speaker

Mr. Rajesh Chaabra

Chief Technical and Sustainability Officer

NxtInfra Trust

Mr. Bovin Kumar
Speaker

Mr. Bovin Kumar

CEO

Cube Highways & Transportation Asset Advisors

Mr. Suhas Eklahare
Speaker

Mr. Suhas Eklahare

Executive Vice President

NCC Ltd

Prof. Satish Pandey
Speaker

Prof. Satish Pandey

Head, Flexible Pavement Division

CSIR-CRRI

Prof. Dharamveer Singh
Speaker

Prof. Dharamveer Singh

Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering

IIT Bombay

Prof. Dharamveer Singh
Speaker

Mr. Abhishek Chaudhary

CEO – Transportation Vertical and Head Digital Transformation Initiatives,

Welspun Enterprises

Past Speakers
Dr Sanjay Mukherjee

Dr Sanjay Mukherjee

MMRDA Commissioner

Govt of Maharashtra

Abhishek Chhajer

Abhishek Chhajer

Chief Financial Officer

Highways Infrastructure Trust

Bharat Parekh

Bharat Parekh

Executive Director

CLSA Ltd

Jagannarayan Padmanabhan

Jagannarayan Padmanabhan

Sr Director and Global Head -Transport logistics and Mobility

CRISIL Limited

Ajay Saxena

Ajay Saxena

Field Expert / Sector Head (Infrastructure Development)

Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA)

Zafar Khan

Zafar Khan

Executive Director and Joint CEO

Highways Infrastructure Trust

Suneel Vora

Suneel Vora

Partner

KPMG

Jitesh J Thakkar

Jitesh J Thakkar

Professor & Dean Academics

Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya

Dimitrov Krishnan

Dimitrov Krishnan

Managing Director

Volvo Construction Equipment

Akhilesh Srivastava

Akhilesh Srivastava

Road Safety Ambassador

International Road Federation (IRF) (IC)

Himanshu Pathak

Himanshu Pathak

Lead Product Manager

Honeywell

Ambika Behl

Ambika Behl

Senior Principal Scientist

CSIR - Central Road Research Institute (CRRI)