India’s supreme court has given approval for a new parliament building that critics have called an “expensive vanity project” for the prime minister, Narendra Modi. [...]

Since the project was announced, it has faced criticism from civil society groups, environmentalists and politicians about its lack of transparency and public consultation and high cost in a time of economic crisis. — The Guardian

The board of governors (BoG) for Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has decided to withdraw an expression of interest (EOI) that was put out by the management last month inviting architects and designers to propose plans for demolishing dormitories in the campus built by American architect Louis Kahn and replacing them with new structures. — The Times of India

Despite widespread opposition, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has begun a £2bn overhaul of Delhi's grand complex of government buildings in a bid to sever the nation from its colonial past.

At a ceremony held last week, Modi laid the foundation stone for a new building to replace Parliament House, designed by English architects Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker, which upon its completion in 1927 became the seat of power for British-ruled India. — The Art Newspaper

Here again were bare untiled floors and the constant presence of wind and earth. There was a stillness, a permanent air of afternoon and an interior that was magically cooler and airier than the exterior it felt so much at peace with. The site sloped downward, so the house had been set on many levels. — T Magazine

The government has decided to move towards achieving 100-percent electrification of railways, as part of efforts to curb carbon footprints, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

The railways minister also said he has a mission that in next 10 years, Indian Railways will be running on renewable energy. — The Economic Times

Kala Academy, Goa’s cultural centre, which was designed by the renowned architect Charles Correa in the late 1970s, is threatened with demolition by the State Government in the near future. It is an exceedingly important building, not just among Correa’s international repertoire, but also in the State of Goa. — change.org

In India's sixth-largest city, lines for water snake around city blocks, restaurants are turning away customers and a man was killed in a brawl over water. Chennai, with a population of almost 10 million, is nearly out of water.

In much of India, municipal water, drawn from reservoirs or groundwater, typically runs for only a couple of hours each day. That's the norm year-round. The affluent fill tanks on their roofs; the poor fill jerrycans and buckets. — NPR

The World Monuments Fund [...] announced the completion of a conservation project at two historic Mughal gardens along the Yamuna riverfront in Agra, India, that had been threatened by pollution, traffic congestion and other urban ills. The sites, Mehtab Bagh and the Garden of the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah, were newly inaugurated by the fund and the Archaeological Survey of India, its partner in the four-year effort, in a ceremony at I’timad-ud-Daulah. — The Art Newspaper

​Unfortunately, we have since forgotten this soulful approach to architecture and design, following instead the prevailing planning model of big budgets, large-scale structures and isolated behaviors. Consequently, our habitations have become fragmented and we fail to see the city’s infrastructure and life in an integrated way.​ — The New York Times

The new towering “Statue of Unity” in Kevadia, a tribute to Indian independence-era leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, at 597 feet is four times as tall as the Statue of Liberty. — Washington Post

Researchers say India could alleviate its growing shortage of sand, which is needed for concrete, by partially replacing it with waste plastic.

Research carried out by the University of Bath in the UK, and India’s Goa Engineering College, has found that concrete made with an admixture of ground-up plastic bottles is almost as strong as traditional concrete mixtures. — globalconstructionreview.com

This week, Ikea opened its first store in India–a feat the company has been planning for many years. But while the big, blue exterior of the store looks the same, the interiors, from the displays to the products themselves, have been subtlety tailored to accommodate cultural differences. It’s a strategy Ikea has used to expand from its origins in Sweden, now reaching 30 markets in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia... — fastcompany.com