Shirish Patel, urban planner who designed India’s first flyover, dies at 92
Mumbai: Urban planner Shirish Patel who designed India’s first flyover at Kemp’s Corner in Mumbai, died on Friday. He had cancer and was aged 92.
Patel was one of the pioneers in envisioning the creation of Navi Mumbai as a model city to alleviate the pressure on Mumbai. He played a key role in designing the project and overseeing the state government's efforts during its construction in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was deeply committed to preserving Mumbai's heritage and improving the city's infrastructure, in addition to playing a vital role in the construction of the Koyna Dam, one of the largest dams in Maharashtra.
Describing Shirish Patel's death as an irreparable loss, renowned conservation architect Pankaj Joshi told The Indian Express that he first met Patel when they were both members of the civic heritage committee. “He worked tirelessly towards multiple issues affecting Mumbai’s heritage and infrastructure. He also highlighted the importance of open spaces and environment sustainability and considered these factors to be non-negotiable when it came to Mumbai’s infrastructure development,” Joshi said.
Throughout his life, Patel championed the cause of equitable urban development in Mumbai. He strongly opposed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) plan to demolish and rebuild the Malabar Hill water reservoir. Last year, following widespread public opposition, the civic authorities decided to abandon the move.
Shirish Patel was born in 1932 and spent his childhood in Karachi. He relocated to Mumbai after his father Bhailal Patel became the first Indian municipal commissioner of the city. Patel studied at the prestigious Cambridge University and served as a chief planner with the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).
In 2023, Patel, along with architects and urban planners Oormi Kapadia and Jasmine Saluja, authored a book titled ‘6 Metros’ which is a comparative study of urban planning and implementation in London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Delhi and London.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
