1 week ago
Rajnath Singh Unveils ₹3,500 Crore Defence Expansion in Bengal
India has started five large projects to expand defence factories and shipyards in West Bengal.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the projects during a virtual ceremony in Kolkata.
Three projects are for GRSE, which builds and repairs ships.
Two projects are for Yantra India, which makes special metal parts.
The biggest project will be built at Raichak and will include a large dry dock and other shipbuilding facilities.
These facilities will be able to handle large warships and commercial vessels.
Yantra India will install powerful modern machines to make items such as gun barrels, ammunition parts and railway axles.
Officials say the projects will create jobs and help smaller businesses.
They also aim to help India make more defence equipment domestically instead of importing it.
Rajnath Singh virtually laid the foundation for five brownfield projects worth nearly ₹3,500 crore in West Bengal on August 23, 2026.
The projects include three Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers facilities and two Yantra India Limited projects.
GRSE’s Raichak facility, backed by more than ₹2,500 crore, will build warships up to 200 metres and commercial vessels up to 60,000 DWT.
GRSE will also upgrade facilities at Timber Pond in Shalimar and the Damodar facility at Kidderpore for shipbuilding, repairs and small-craft manufacturing.
Yantra India’s Ishapore projects, costing more than ₹750 crore, will add advanced forging and metallurgical capacity for defence, railway and nuclear-sector components.
- Who
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, GRSE, Yantra India Limited and officials from the Defence Ministry and West Bengal were involved.
- What
- The foundation was laid for five brownfield expansion projects—three for GRSE and two for Yantra India Limited—worth nearly ₹3,500 crore.
- Where
- The projects are at Raichak, Timber Pond in Shalimar, the Damodar facility at Kidderpore and the Metal and Steel Factory at Ishapore; the ceremony was held virtually from Kolkata.
- When
- August 23, 2026.
- Why
- The projects are intended to expand shipbuilding, ship repair and defence manufacturing, support indigenous production, create employment and provide opportunities for MSMEs and ancillary industries.
Key facts
- Total investment
- Nearly ₹3,500 crore across five projects in West Bengal
- GRSE expansion
- Three facilities at Raichak, Shalimar and Kidderpore
- Raichak facility
- More than ₹2,500 crore for a 32-acre riverside site with a 200-metre dry dock
- Raichak capacity
- Warships up to 200 metres and commercial vessels up to 60,000 DWT
- Other GRSE investments
- Around ₹100 crore for Timber Pond and approximately ₹70 crore for the Damodar facility
- Yantra India expansion
- More than ₹750 crore at Ishapore’s Metal and Steel Factory
- Major Yantra India equipment
- A ₹277.59-crore 3,000-tonne hydraulic forging press and a ₹473.84-crore radial forging plant
Quotes
A GRSE company official
Company official who described the expected benefits of the expansion projects
“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”
theprint.in
“The state is now stepping towards a new development renaissance. The days of factory closures and padlocks in West Bengal are in the past; they have been replaced by the launch of new projects.”
indianexpress.com
theprint.in
Sources
West Bengal gets ₹3,500 crore defence and shipbuilding projects
‘Days of factory closures over’: Rajnath Singh unveils Rs 3,500-crore defence expansion in Bengal
Defence ministry backs major shipbuilding, manufacturing expansion in West Bengal
Rajnath lays foundation for 5 expansion projects of GRSE, Yantra India
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