Rajnath Singh, Suvendu Adhikari Launch Rs 3,500 Crore GRSE, YIL Expansion Projects in Kolkata
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on August 23, 2026 virtually laid the foundation stone for five major expansion projects of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Yantra India Limited (YIL) from GRSE Bhavan in Kolkata, in a move aimed at widening India’s shipbuilding, ship repair and defence manufacturing capacity.
Joined by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Singh performed the Bhumi Pujan for projects with a combined investment of about Rs 3,500 crore. The initiatives spread across Kolkata, Howrah, South 24-Parganas and Ishapore are intended to strengthen indigenous production under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India frameworks, while also advancing the government’s broader “Make for the World” ambition.
Of the five projects, three belong to GRSE and are located at Kidderpore in Kolkata, Shalimar in Howrah and Raichak in South 24-Parganas. Together, they are designed to expand the shipyard’s ability to build and repair warships as well as commercial vessels. The remaining two projects are at YIL’s Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore, where the focus is on precision forging and the manufacture of critical defence and strategic components.
Addressing the event, Singh said the projects reflected the government’s commitment to greater self-reliance in defence production and to preserving India’s strategic autonomy. He said defence self-reliance was essential if the Armed Forces were to have dependable access to critical weapons, platforms and equipment.
The Raksha Mantri said the experience of Operation Sindoor had reinforced the importance of indigenous weapons and platforms, and had also highlighted the contribution of domestic defence industries, research institutions, public sector undertakings and private companies in building the capabilities required by the Armed Forces.
“Self-reliance is not merely a policy; it is a force multiplier for battlefield capability,” he said, stressing the strategic value of a stronger domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The projects are also expected to generate substantial employment and create more business opportunities for ancillary industries and micro, small and medium enterprises. Beyond defence readiness, the investment is projected to support industrial activity and wider economic development in West Bengal.
GRSE’s expansion across three sites
Singh noted GRSE’s growing contribution to indigenous warship construction, pointing out that the shipyard has built more than 800 vessels. He also referred to the high indigenous content being incorporated into new naval platforms, including next-generation offshore patrol vessels.
He congratulated GRSE on attaining Navratna status and said the company had played an important role in strengthening India’s shipbuilding ecosystem.
The largest of the GRSE projects is coming up at Raichak. Spread over around 32 acres and backed by a 356-metre waterfront and an existing 96-metre jetty, the facility is being developed at a cost of more than Rs 2,500 crore.
Once complete, the Raichak site will allow GRSE to build warships up to 200 metres long and commercial vessels of up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight. The planned infrastructure includes a 200-metre dry dock, a 200-metre slipway, a 200-metre ship-launching pad, and two jetties measuring 120 metres and 86 metres.
The project also includes block fabrication and consolidation areas, hull repair shops, stores and administrative infrastructure, which will significantly enhance GRSE’s capacity to handle large-scale shipbuilding and repair work.
Singh said the Raichak facility would improve GRSE’s ability to compete for future-generation naval platforms, including next-generation destroyers.
At Shalimar in Howrah, GRSE is investing nearly Rs 100 crore to revive the Timber Pond facility, which has been taken on a 30-year lease from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata. The four-acre site is being converted into a shipbuilding and repair centre for medium-sized vessels.
The work at Shalimar includes restoration of a 130-metre dry dock, construction of a 120-metre slipway, shoreline protection, and installation of a dry dock gate and gantry crane. Block fabrication facilities, workshops and stores will also be developed there.
At Kidderpore Docks in Kolkata, GRSE has acquired an old workshop and a 25-metre waterfront stretch known as the Damodar facility. Located next to the company’s existing dry docks, the site will be developed with an investment of about Rs 70 crore for medium-sized vessel repairs, electric ferry construction and other small craft.
YIL projects at Ishapore
The two projects announced for YIL at the Metal and Steel Factory in Ishapore involve a combined investment of more than Rs 750 crore and are aimed at modernising key metallurgical and precision manufacturing capabilities.
The first project is a 3,000-tonne Heavy Duty Hydraulic Open Die Forging Press with two integrated rail-bound manipulators. It will replace the existing 2,650-tonne equipment that has been in operation since 1976.
The new press is expected to support high-precision production of gun barrels, ammunition components and heavy defence forgings. It is also intended to improve operational safety while reducing downtime and maintenance requirements.
According to the details shared at the event, the forging press project is projected to generate annual savings of around Rs 25.58 crore and support annual turnover of about Rs 500 crore. Completion is scheduled within 26 months.
The second YIL project is a Radial Forging Plant, with an investment of Rs 473.84 crore. The plant will introduce advanced radial forging technology at MSF Ishapore and will include both upstream and downstream manufacturing facilities.
It is expected to expand YIL’s capacity to make super-alloy forgings, hollow tubes for aerial bombs, critical components for future ordnance systems, high-strength railway axles and parts for nuclear reactors.
The facility will be built to Industry 4.0 standards and is planned as an energy-efficient, precision-engineering unit. It is projected to yield an annual profit of roughly Rs 69 crore, with a payback period of around six years.
Singh used the occasion to point to what he described as a “Capacity Paradox” in the global shipbuilding market, where demand for naval and commercial vessels is rising even as traditional shipbuilding nations face shrinking capacity.
He said this could open a window for India to emerge as a major shipbuilding hub if it strengthens its design, manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul capabilities.
The Raksha Mantri said India’s pool of engineers, IT professionals and expertise in simulation and artificial intelligence could be used to develop indigenous ship designs, protect intellectual property and eventually export such designs globally.
He also cited the country’s skilled workforce, steel industry and extensive MSME network as advantages that could support the growth of the domestic shipbuilding sector.
Modernising shipyards and maintaining international quality standards, he said, would be essential for India to compete effectively in the global market. He identified ship repair and MRO as another important area of opportunity, particularly because of India’s location in the Indian Ocean Region.
According to Singh, developing India into a major ship repair and overhaul hub could help save foreign exchange and create thousands of jobs.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described the Bhumi Pujan as a historic moment for the state and said the projects would strengthen GRSE and YIL while aiding the revival of West Bengal’s industrial sector.
The projects are expected to create both direct and indirect employment and generate new opportunities for MSMEs, suppliers and ancillary industries linked to the defence manufacturing and shipbuilding ecosystem.
With the expansion of GRSE and YIL facilities, the government is seeking to deepen India’s strategic manufacturing base through larger shipbuilding capacity, modernised metallurgical infrastructure and greater integration between public sector enterprises, private industry and MSMEs. The projects are aimed at supporting national defence preparedness while also building India’s case as a globally competitive defence and shipbuilding hub.
