Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, 25 June 2026 highlighted the collaborative institutional model behind the renovation of the Old Light House in Puducherry, calling it a model example of the 'whole of government' approach championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Context

In a post on X, Sitharaman outlined how four distinct institutions — IIT Madras, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), INTACH, and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) — each played a defined role in restoring the nineteenth-century structure. She described the exercise as a demonstration of institutional collaboration rather than a single-agency effort. The post is the second in a thread, indicating a broader communication around the project.

The Old Light House is among Puducherry's colonial-era heritage landmarks, a Union Territory whose built heritage reflects its history as a former French colony and features a concentration of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century structures.

Policy Backdrop

The National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures (NCSHS), established at IIT Madras in 2019, was tasked with conducting a detailed structural safety assessment of the lighthouse. Sitharaman noted that the centre's 'scientific rigour helped ensure that this nineteenth-century structure would remain safe and stable for future generations.' The NCSHS was created precisely to bring engineering discipline to the assessment of India's ageing heritage stock.

The Archaeological Survey of India, founded in 1861 and the nodal body for protection of ancient monuments, provided expert guidance to preserve the 'authenticity and integrity of the restoration,' according to Sitharaman's post. INTACH, which has worked on Puducherry's heritage buildings since the 1990s, served as project consultant, while the CPWD executed the physical work under INTACH's guidance.

The project reflects a wider policy emphasis on applying modern engineering standards to colonial-era structures without compromising their historical character — a balance that has become a recurring challenge in coastal and former colonial cities across India.

Stakeholders and Impact

Heritage conservationists have long advocated for exactly this kind of layered institutional involvement, arguing that structural safety and cultural authenticity require separate but coordinated expertise. The Puducherry tourism sector, which draws visitors partly on the strength of its colonial streetscapes and landmarks, stands to benefit directly from the lighthouse's stabilisation and preservation.

Local residents and civil society groups in Puducherry have historically been invested in the fate of heritage structures in the Union Territory, and the involvement of INTACH — an organisation with deep community ties in the region — is likely to lend the project credibility among those stakeholders.

What's Next

Sitharaman's thread format ('2/n') suggests further details on the project are forthcoming, potentially covering outcomes, timelines, or other aspects of the restoration. Observers will watch whether the NCSHS at IIT Madras expands its structural assessments to other lighthouses or heritage buildings along India's coastline, and whether the INTACH-CPWD partnership model is replicated in other heritage-dense Union Territories and cities facing similar preservation challenges.