Inadequate budgets, delays in placing orders and then in construction, poorly coordinated delivery schedules, and the China factor present manifold challenges for the navy, notes T N Ninan
A strong order book for construction of 16 warships concurrently for Indian Armed Forces at this juncture holds exciting times ahead for the GRSE, the company said
Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd is making seven vessels for foreign countries, out of the 23 ships that are in the different stages of construction, its chairman and managing director Commodore (retd) P R Hari said. GRSE, which had bagged the prestigious Rs 19,294-crore order for the construction of three advanced stealth frigates under Project 17A for the Indian Navy, has already launched two of these ships and the construction of the third one is in full swing. "Of the 23 ships being developed by GRSE, seven are for foreign countries," Hari told PTI. The Kolkata-based warship maker is constructing six patrol boats for Bangladesh and an ocean-going passenger and cargo ferry vessel for Cooperative Republic of Guyana, he said. After having launched P17A advanced frigate INS Himgiri and large survey vessel INS Sandhayak, GRSE is doing outfitting work on these ships at its FOJ (fitting out jetty) unit before handing these over to the Indian Navy, Hari said. Th
The government has already invited preliminary bids to sell its 26 per cent stake in BEML along with transfer of management control
Close on HAL's heels is Bharat Electronics, with orders in hand worth Rs 56,300 crore
Underlining the monopoly that the defence ministry's four shipyards enjoy, GRSE says it has orders in hand for 22 more warships worth over Rs 27,500 crore
The stock had touched a high of Rs 109 and a low of Rs 95 on both BSE and NSE during the day.