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Maharashtra is well positioned to emerge as a globally significant aerospace manufacturing and supply chain hub

Chandigarh, 10 May 2026: The Aerospace business of Godrej Enterprises Group is strengthening India’s aero engine and high-value aerospace manufacturing capabilities through advanced precision engineering, world-class quality execution, and deep trust built with leading global players. As the only private company in India with demonstrated capability to manufacture all modules of an aero engine, Godrej is playing a significant role in advancing the nation’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

Established in the 1980s, the aerospace business of Godrej Enterprises Group has been a trusted partner in several nation-building missions and has steadily evolved into a key player within the global aerospace ecosystem. Today, it partners with leading aerospace OEMs including Boeing, Safran Aircraft Engines, GE Aerospace, Rolls Royce and RTX—relationships built on flawless execution, zero-defect quality, and consistent delivery of complex, safety-critical aerospace systems. The business has recorded nearly 25% year-on-year growth, while exports have grown by over 30%, reflecting its expanding role in global aerospace supply chains.

Looking ahead, the business has committed an investment of approximately ₹100 crore over the next three years to accelerate innovation-led growth across design, research and development, new product development, and advanced digital manufacturing technologies. Its engineering capabilities are anchored by a dedicated R&D centre, including a specialised design office focused on mechanical and electromechanical actuation systems for aircraft—marking an important milestone in the company’s transition from built-to-print to built-to-spec capabilities.

Further strengthening this ambition is the business’ new manufacturing facility in Khalapur, Maharashtra, spread across 100 acres and two plants, which will serve as a critical capacity expansion hub for advanced aerospace and propulsion-adjacent programmes serving both India and global OEMs. Backed by strong infrastructure, port connectivity, a deep engineering talent pool, and a growing advanced manufacturing ecosystem, Maharashtra is well positioned to emerge as a globally significant aerospace manufacturing and supply chain hub.

Maneck Behramkamdin, Business Head, Aerospace Business, Godrej Enterprises Group, said: “Aero engine ecosystems are built on deep engineering capability, uncompromising quality, resilient supply chains, and sustained execution credibility. Our journey reflects the trust we have earned from global OEMs and our long-term commitment to indigenising critical aerospace systems. With continued investments in innovation, advanced manufacturing, and people capability, Godrej is well positioned to support India’s aero engine ambitions and contribute meaningfully to the global aerospace value chain.”

A defining milestone in this journey has been Godrej’s indigenous development and manufacture of critical aerospace systems, including actuators—positioning it among a select few with such advanced capabilities in India. This reflects the company’s evolution from a precision component manufacturer to a design-led engineering partner capable of delivering integrated aerospace systems.

Driven by precision engineering, a strong quality culture, and long-term capability building, Godrej continues to strengthen India’s position as a trusted and globally competitive aerospace manufacturing partner.

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, May 2026: Payments Heroes League (PHL) 2026, India’s premier corporate cricket tournament for the payments, fintech, and BFSI ecosystems, concluded on a high note with a closing ceremony and grand finale after seven days of cricketing action, camaraderie, and entertainment, with Gladiators creating history by lifting the PHL Trophy for the very first time.

The week-long tournament witnessed several closely contested matches, keeping the excitement alive among players and audiences throughout the event. Getting inspired with the latest win of our Indian women cricket team in World Cup, The tournament commenced with an energetic Women’s League match , setting the tone for an action-packed season. Team Finix emerged victorious in the Women’s League category with an impressive performance. iServeU giving the similar space to their women employees to showcase their talent.

The much-anticipated grand finale was played between Gladiators and defending champions Nimurai. The tournament also witnessed stellar performances from former Ranji players, whose experience and leadership significantly contributed to the competitive spirit and quality of the matches throughout the season. Former Ranji cricketer Payash Ranjan once again showcased his excellence on the field and was awarded the Purple Cap Award for emerging as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. He was also honoured with the Best Bowler of the Tournament award.

Speaking on the victory, the franchise owner of Gladiators Mr. Abinash Nanda, CBO- iServeU said, “Winning the PHL 2026 trophy for the very first time is a proud and emotional moment for our entire team. The tournament was highly competitive, and every match pushed us to perform better. This victory is the result of hard work, dedication, and team spirit of every player.”

The franchise owner of Nimurai Mr. Sanjib Parida added, “PHL 2026 has been a wonderful platform showcasing competitive cricket, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. It was great to be part of such an exciting season, and we congratulate Gladiators on their remarkable performance in the finals also thanks to all Ranji players to level up the game it was indeed a great experience.”

The Orange Cap Award for impactful batting performance was awarded to Arindam Chakroborty, while Natraj Behera, the ex-Ranji player, lit up the tournament with a stunning 147 in the final, and was recognised as the Best Batsman of the Tournament for his exceptional batting performances throughout the league.

Dev Kalyan Sahani was awarded the prestigious Man of the Series title for his consistent and outstanding contribution across the tournament.

The closing ceremony was graced by Chief Guest Rahul Singh, Country Head – Private Baking – IDFC bank, who congratulated all participating teams and applauded the platform for promoting sportsmanship, wellness, and collaboration within the corporate ecosystem. Beyond the cricket, PHL 2026 also served as a powerful networking arena for the payments and BFSI industry. With senior executives and decision-makers from leading banks and fintech companies present across the seven days, the league provided a natural and engaging environment for meaningful connections — bridging the gap between financial institutions and technology innovators in a setting that went well beyond the boardroom.

PHL 2026 was made possible by the generous support of its sponsors, who joined as valued partners in bringing this vision to life. The tournament was supported by leading industry players including Axis Bank (Title Sponsor), IDFC First Bank, Union Bank, DCB Bank, Trendit, Eshopbox, Zenisk, Lyra, Morefun, mPurse, Livlong, Vodafone, Campa Cola, and Decathlon. Their participation and presence at the event reflected the growing recognition of PHL as a premier platform for brand visibility and community engagement within the ecosystem.

In recognition of their valuable contribution to the tournament, participating Ranji players were felicitated during the ceremony as Decathlon PHL Heroes. Umpires were also honoured by Aaonxt for their dedication and support throughout the tournament.

The closing ceremony beautifully celebrated cricket, entertainment, teamwork, and community participation, making this edition of Payments Heroes League a memorable and grand success.

  

A new pilot project spearheaded by researchers from the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering at Texas Tech University hopes to create safer traffic conditions for pedestrians and drivers by providing real-time warnings. This comes at a time when pedestrian deaths nationwide have risen by 50% since 2014, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Pedestrian-involved and failure-to-yield crashes are especially pronounced in rural areas where roads are not well lit at night, designated crosswalks are spread far apart or not present and traffic can be infrequent and move at higher speeds than urban or suburban areas. 

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reported 772 pedestrians died on Texas roads in 2024. While this is a slight decrease from the 808 pedestrian deaths reported the previous year, it’s still an increase of nearly 60% since 2014. Failing to yield the right-of-way was identified as a major factor for severe and fatal crashes for both pedestrians and drivers, especially in West Texas. 

The project is co-led by Hongchao Liu, professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental & Construction Engineering, and Changzhi Li, associate academic dean of research and graduate programs in Electrical & Computer Engineering. 

The team recently received a nearly $1.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to pilot and evaluate a real-time warning and data collection system that uses light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to address pedestrian-involved and failure-to-yield crashes.

Over four years, the team will collect year-round data on driver and pedestrian behavior and near-miss incidents, compare locations with and without the system, and refine the system accordingly. The team will also develop deployment guidance to support broader implementation.

“We chose to use LiDAR because it would not infringe on pedestrian and driver privacy and does not need external illumination, making it well suited for rural environments,” Liu said. “By rotating a full 360 degrees, it captures and monitors every movement in the surrounding area without blind spots.”

According to Liu, Lubbock serves as a representative example of rural and semi-rural West Texas. Since 2016, Lubbock has seen pedestrian-involved crashes increase by over 40% and failure-to-yield crashes increase by over 22%. Some of the Lubbock high-crash corridors include U.S. Routes 84, 62 and 70, South Loop 289, Interstate 27, state Highway 114 and 82nd Street.

The LiDAR devices will be installed at crosswalks between intersections and integrated with existing stop signs at select high-risk intersections located throughout the South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG) region, which includes Lubbock County and 14 other surrounding counties. 

Along with LiDAR-based hardware, the system will use algorithms designed for processing point cloud data onsite and structuring decision-making frameworks. Data will be collected every tenth of a second when the devices are active, which should allow for real-time warnings.

Consider the ways rural highways differ from urban roadways. The infrastructure is updated far less frequently, lighting can be sparse and the travel speeds are considerably higher. These factors create more severe safety risks for pedestrians and drivers. 

While lights on signals and signs can initially be effective at capturing a driver’s attention and lead to more cautious driving, the long-term effects tell a different story.

“TxDOT reports after about six months, people become used to the lights and start ignoring the signs,” Liu said. 

In comparison, the team’s devices would provide an additional layer of protection by delivering real-time warnings when potential hazards are detected ahead at a specific moment. 

Liu notes that radar will also be evaluated because the devices will need to cover a range between 300 and 400 meters, roughly a quarter of a mile, at high speed corridors. The devices will always be on but would only automatically trigger a flashing light to warn drivers once a pedestrian, another vehicle or other potential hazard is detected. 

“This way, people will realize when the sign is flashing they have to be careful because pedestrians are present or traffic is approaching,” he said. “Psychologically, this works quite differently.”

The devices will also collect and analyze data, creating a dashboard tool for the SPAG counties. The hope is this can offer officials access to data on pedestrian-involved and failure-to-yield crashes quicker and provide trends and predictive analysis. 

If this pilot project is successful at its current demonstration phase, Liu says it will enter an implementation phase where the devices will be used in a larger area to better show their effectiveness. 

At his core, Liu is an engineer in applied transportation. His work, as this project shows, is predicated on the idea that his research can be applied in the real world and have meaningful impact far and wide across Lubbock, West Texas and the U.S.

“My goal is to ensure that the work I have done can bring meaningful benefit to people,” he said. “If our work can help prevent even a single fatal crash and save one or two lives, that would be deeply meaningful to me.”