'Gateway To Growth': Netizens Applaud Inauguration Of NMIA, Metro 3 Final Phase, STEP Program & Mumbai One App

Mumbai: The digital world and ground realities of infrastructure witnessed a moment of public pride today, as social media lit up with applause over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of Metro Line 3’s final stretch, the Mumbai One app, and the STEP skill programme for Maharashtra.

Commuters, observers, and youth hailed the move as a step toward a smarter, faster, more inclusive Mumbai. On X and other forums, users called the launch an “upgrade to the city’s heartbeat,” celebrating how Metro 3 promises to ease the daily grind.

One post noted: “While the Navi Mumbai airport is essential for years forward, Metro Line 3 is an immediate relief to Mumbaikars… this may ease the nightmare that is the Western Express Highway.” Another remarked that Metro 3 is “not just a route but a new rhythm” in Mumbai life. The sense was clear, people expect better commuting experiences right away.

Praise flowed for NMIA too. Many celebrated its identity as India’s “first fully digital and green airport,” powered by AI systems, facial recognition, and digital-twin modeling.

Reports said the airport was built for ₹19,650 crore, with aspirations to serve 20 million passengers in Phase 1 and 90 million at full scale. Commenters saw it as a symbol of new India, “speed, scale, self-belief.”

Equally, the Mumbai One app got attention as a smart connective bridge across the city’s many transport modes. Users appreciated its promise of a single digital ticket across metros, buses, trains, monorail, doing away with multiple passes and long queues. Many predicted it would truly transform how citizens move around the metropolitan region.

Social media also welcomed the launch of STEP (Short-Term Employability Programme) in Maharashtra. Numbers helped underscore the ambition: 2,500 new training batches, across 400 ITIs and 150 technical high schools, and 364 batches exclusively for women, covering tech domains like AI, IoT, EV, solar, additive manufacturing. That mix of skills and infrastructure struck a chord, many saw it as an investment in human capital, not just concrete.

These reactions echo recent coverage by The Free Press Journal, which described Metro 3’s Phase 2B stretch from Worli to Cuffe Parade as completing the full 33.5 km underground corridor, and noted that October 9 will mark the full corridor’s operational start after safety approvals. The launch of Mumbai One was also a key element in unifying Mumbai’s 11 public transport operators under one platform.