Kolkata: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday asserted that India is capable of becoming a global shipbuilding hub, taking advantage of a “vacuum” created in the industry in the traditional shipbuilding countries.
Singh was addressing a gathering here after virtually laying the foundation stone for five expansion projects of the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers and Yantra India Ltd.
He also said that rapid developments were taking place in shipbuilding technology.
Traditional manufacturers were slowly bringing down production, and India can capture this opportunity, Singh said.
“India is capable of seizing this golden opportunity to become a global shipbuilding hub,” the defence minister said, pointing to three sectors — design, manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
Stating that capacity paradox in shipbuilding sector has to be kept in mind, he said that demand for ships is increasing worldwide, be it warships, oil tankers or other commercial vessels.
He said the traditional shipbuilding nations of the USA, UK, France, and the Netherlands have slowly reduced their shipbuilding capacities over the last few decades due to various reasons, from high labour costs to lack of modernisation of old shipyards.
India has a large workforce, steel companies and the willpower to adapt to new technologies, said Singh, who was accompanied by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the event.
He said India can, riding on a large number of engineering and IT talents and artificial intelligence and skilled workforce, become a world-class ship design hub.
Singh said foundation was laid for five projects worth nearly Rs 3,500 crore in the state. The projects comprise three facilities of GRSE and two of Yantra India.
He said the West Bengal government will take steps to usher in a “new renaissance of development”.
“Change took place in West Bengal for the development of the state. The news of closures and lockouts of factories in the state has now been replaced by the launch of new projects,” Singh said.
He said this is the image of a changing India, lauding Adhikari as a “doer” chief minister.
Speaking on the occasion, Adhikari alleged that previous governments in West Bengal did not work with the Centre for the development of the state.
“Earlier governments in West Bengal did not work with the Centre for the development of the state. The negativity of 50 years has ended, and our double-engine government will now ensure that the state advances,” he asserted.
A GRSE official said that as part of its capacity expansion, the company has signed lease agreements with the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) for two small shipyards on either bank of the Hooghly, along with a 32-acre riverside property at Raichak, to enhance capabilities in warship construction and refit.
The Raichak facility will be developed as a shipbuilding hub with an investment of over Rs 2,500 crore, he said.
“The Raichak facility would be able to manufacture 200-metre-long warships, which will aid GRSE in bidding for next-generation destroyers,” Singh said.
At Yantra India’s Metal and Steel Factory (MSF), Ishapore, two facilities with a combined investment of over Rs 750 crore will strengthen indigenous metallurgical and defence manufacturing, the official said.
“These projects will strengthen the capabilities of GRSE, while supporting the revival of West Bengal’s industrial ecosystem through employment generation and increased opportunities for ancillary industries, particularly MSMEs,” he said.
The defence minister said the significance of indigenisation of defence manufacturing was exhibited during Operation Sindoor.
“The world has seen the prowess of India’s indigenous weapon systems,” he said, asserting that in the future as well, there will no dearth in initiatives to make India’s defence requirements met indigenously.
He said that the five brownfield projects, whose foundation stone was laid on Sunday, will give force to the country’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the World’ policies.
Stating that there is a “new fragrance in West Bengal’s air”, the defence minister said the aroma is not only of a change in government but also of development, investments, and new opportunities.
“If the intention is clear and right, and there is confidence for investment, then no power in the world can stop the pace of development,” he said.
Singh said that every sector in the state, from healthcare, education to industry and law and order are seeing better days in the state under the new dispensation.
“This confidence is reflected in national security,” he said, adding that the Adhikari government has played an important role in ensuring this.
The defence minister said that within 45 days of taking over, the new government ensured transfer of 1,100 acres of land to BSF for fencing the porous India-Bangladesh border.
He said West Bengal has given the country new ideas, talents and also the national song Vande Mataram.
“The time has come for West Bengal to give a new impetus to the country,” he said.
Maintaining that West Bengal has been witness to the country’s renaissance and nationalism, he said this land was known as a centre of India’s industrial revolution.
“This land is moving towards a new industrial renaissance,” Singh asserted.
The BJP, in the run-up to the West Bengal assembly elections, promised rapid industrialisation and job creation in the state.
He said the expansion projects will create new opportunities for the MSME sector and generate employment.
“These projects will mark a new chapter in West Bengal’s socio-economic progress,” Singh said.
He urged private sector players to increase investment in the defence sector alongside the defence PSUs.
