With a passion for realising the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), a leading warship building mini ratna public sector company, is at the cusp of a major transformation facilitated by its knowledge, skill levels and operational capabilities gained over the years, brand equity, a healthy balance sheet and a dedicated team at the helm.
Set up in 1884 to repair vessels of River Steam Navigation Company, GRSE has several achievements to its credit in its long journey and is the only Indian shipyard to have delivered 107 warships to Maritime forces till date. First Indigenous ship for Indian Navy post Independence was built by GRSE, the Seaward Defence Boat (SDB) INS Ajay in 1961. GRSE also built the first ever Indian Export Warship “CGS Barracuda”. Based on the long association and contribution of GRSE towards indigenous warship design & construction program of the Indian Navy, GRSE was awarded the contract for construction of 03 nos. Advanced Frigates under Prestigious Project 17-A.
Make in India
As part of Make in India initiatives of Ministry of Defence, GRSE has made commendable progress by successfully incorporating a high percentage of indigenous equipment fit into the ships being built for the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. This is evident on-board Kamorta class ASW Corvettes, the first warship built in the country with indigenous DMR steel and overall 90% indigenous content with a unique feature of superstructure made of carbon fibre composite material. The Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ships, designed in-house by GRSE also achieved similar distinction. The company so far has delivered eight such LCUs Mk IV ships to the Indian Navy.
Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN(Retd.), Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE
Having built and delivered over 780 vessels to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard and other customers, GRSE’s thrust is to capture global markets. Delivery of one Fast Patrol Vessel – “SCG PS Zoroaster” to the Seychelles Coast Guard in Feb 2021 and an order for supply of “Ocean Going Passenger cum Cargo Ferry Vessel” from Govt of Guyana, bear testimony to GRSE’s thrust for exports and realigning marketing strategies to match with the dynamic global environment. These orders were bagged through competitive bidding where other international players were in the fray.
At the Helm
The decisive leadership of Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena, IN (Retd.) as Chairman and Managing Director since March 2017 has enabled GRSE to register a strong growth in the last four years. The company’s order book stands at Rs 25,707 Crore as on 31 March 2021. It includes construction of 17 warships under five prestigious projects - Frigates (P17A), Survey Vessels (Large), ASW Shallow Water Crafts (ASW-SWC) for Indian Navy, Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) for Indian Coast Guard and Ocean Going Passenger cum Cargo Ferry Vessel for Republic of Guyana. Concurrently, the shipyard is undertaking measures to strengthen internal processes, systems, infrastructure and cost effectiveness. Several new initiatives have also been launched under the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ drive. The CMD’s focus has been to make GRSE a competitive business entity with greater emphasis on operational efficiency.
As a result, the Value of Production (VoP) of the Shipyard has risen from Rs. 927.84 Crore in FY 2016-17 to Rs. 1424.70 Crore in FY 2019-20. Amidst the pandemic induced disruptions, the company was able to achieve a VoP of Rs. 1132.76 Crore. Further, the EBITDA Margin has increased to 17.98% in FY 2020-21 as against 15.39% in FY 2019-20 while PBT margin has increased to 16% as against 13% of FY 2019-20. Company’s Operating Profit has gone up by 3.44 times over FY 20 while Net Worth has gone up by 9% over previous year. The company also declared a dividend of 50% of its paid-up share Capital.
In-house Design Capabilities
The company’s in-house design capabilities remain its major area of strength with the multi-disciplinary 100 plus design team working towards developing various concept designs for current and future warship projects aided by state-of-the-art Virtual Reality Lab. Offshore Patrol Vessel, Landing Craft Utilities, Survey Vessels (Large) and ASW Shallow Water Crafts have been designed in-house by GRSE. The company’s Design and R&D Department has received recognition from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, for its performance.
The Bailey Bridge division of the company has been keeping pace with the ship division in its R&D efforts in designing and developing new products. During the fiscal year 2019-20, this division developed and successfully carried out trials of new products including First of its Kind Man Portable Pedestrian Assault Bridge which is made of light weight carbon fiber reinforced composite material for the Indian Army, 140 feet Double Lane (7.50 m wide) and 190 feet Single Lane modular bridge, both being 70R class load capacity and made of 7 feet panels.
Enhance production capacity
To expand its reach, GRSE is keenly exploring Non-Defence shipbuilding market for building special ships like Pollution Control Vessels, Air Cushion Vehicles, Research Vessels, Dredgers and Boats, River crafts etc. GRSE is also giving the necessary impetus to ship repair business. The company plans to upgrade and expand business of pre-fabricated steel bridges, engine and engineering products. To maintain its competitive edge, the company is shifting to smart manufacturing (Industry 4.0), through thrust on innovations in automation, robotics and the industrial internet of things. It is also introducing Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Interoperability and secured connectivity enabling real time monitoring. This control and optimization of processes, resources and systems is expected to help in workload consolidation across Design, Production & Supply Chain Management, significantly in the future.
Contribution to Eco-system
GRSE has always been instrumental in creating an eco- system of development around its vicinity. As the legacy continues to grow over the years & with adoption of new-age smart business solutions, GRSE has been contributing to the ecosystem with strategic focus on the following aspects:
Procurement from Local/ MSME Vendor Base
GRSE has been outsourcing work to local MSME vendors for many years now. This has led to the creation of a local network of small businesses giving a sturdy boost to the small and medium sector organisations operating in Bengal. Vendors are associated with the shipyard in long-term partnerships ensuring steady business and sustainable livelihood. In the last 10 years, procurement from MSME / NSIC has been close to 25-30 % of the total procurement.
Employment Generation through Local Sub Contracting Services
Close to 85-90 WB based MSE/ NSIC vendors are currently servicing GRSE across various subcontracting jobs, which is much beyond the minimum mandatory nos. as stipulated by the Govt. Around 3000 local manpower is engaged through sub-contractors for multiple service jobs across the GRSE Units.
CSR Activities
GRSE has also been deeply engaged in social and sustainable development projects such as generating employment for local youth, providing vocational training to build employability skills, to organising mobile health check-up and blood donation camps, funding education of local children belonging to minority and marginalised sections, and strengthening infrastructure of public schools.
Over the last decade, GRSE has organised Health Check-up Camps, Blood Donation Camps for under privileged people. Apart from this, the shipyard has also conducted a large number of cataract surgeries for needy people.
Over 3000 local youth have benefitted from the Vocational Training, advance computer Training programs as part of Skill India Program. Girl students were benefitted by company’s Vocational training programs. GRSE has developed training facilities and infrastructure across three Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the state. GRSE in association with Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), Kolkata has been adopting three classes every year and providing infrastructure support including customized mini bus for facilitating transportation of special children. GRSE has also distributed aids & assistive devices to 912 beneficiaries with disabilities in association with ALIMCO.
MoU with RKMSP for Medical Oxygen Plant
Swachhata Abhiyan
GRSE has adopted a robust mechanism in the arena of WASH (Water Sanitation & Hygiene) by undertaking construction & maintenance of over 400 toilets under Swachh Vidyalaya Mission including installation of incinerators in six local girl schools.
As Part of Swachh Bharat Mission, GRSE has engaged in activities including contribution to Swachh Bharat Kosh, Clean Ganga Fund, organising Swachhata Pakhwada, distribution of waste bins to schools, installation of incinerators, training to school children on WASH practices, improvement of Anganwadi Centres and organising Swachhta Sarthi Bike Rallies to generate awareness on Clean India Initiatives.
Activities oriented towards Covid 19 Relief / Aid & Prevention
In rebuilding the economy and in light of the COVID-19 crisis, India’s premier warship builder has stepped in through various measures to contain the crisis. GRSE contributed Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund. GRSE distributed covid relief materials to over 450 families living in and around the vicinity of the shipyard along with handing over of 50 Medical Oxygen Cylinders to District Administration.
GRSE signed MoUs with three renowned hospitals in Kolkata to set up Medical Oxygen Plants under its CSR initiative. GRSE donated ambulances to Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math during Second wave of Covid-19. The Shipyard has set up a dedicated Covid Vaccination Centre at GRSE Main Unit and administered over 5000 doses of Vaccines to permanent and contractual employees.
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Milestones:
- Only Indian Shipyard to deliver 107 Warships to Indian & foreign Maritime forces
- First Indigenous Warship to Indian Navy- INS Ajay in 1961
- First Patrol Vessel – CGS Rajhans to Indian Coast Guard in 1980
- First & Only Shipyard to build Indigenous Fleet Tanker – INS Aditya in 2000
- First Indian Shipyard to build Hovercrafts for Indian Coast Guard in 2000
- First Export Warship – CGS Barracuda to Govt of Mauritius in 2014
- First Indigenous Survey Vessel – INS Sandhayak to Indian Navy
- First Defence Shipyard to get listed on the Stock Exchange
- First Defence PSU to go LIVE on eTreds Platform
- Built over 788 Platforms
- 90% Indigenous Content on ASW Corvettes and LCUs
- Recognition of Design & R&D Unit of GRSE by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology
- Adjudged Best Performing Defence Shipyard of India for Four Years in a row
- Defence Minister’s Award for Excellence for In-house Design Efforts for OPV for Government of Mauritius
- Bagged ‘CEO of the Year’ at Asian Leadership Awards 2021.
- Secured 40th Rank in “Next Fortune 500 Companies of India”
Competitive Edge:
- Modernised infrastructures to undertake integrated shipbuilding using advanced modular construction technology to facilitate construction of larger ships in reduced timeframe
Experience of building a varied range of warships, from 05 Ton Boats to 24,600 Tons Fleet Tanker. The range of Warships include Frigates, Missile and Anti-Submarine Corvettes, Landing Craft Utilities, Landing Ship Tank (Large), Fleet Tanker, Survey Vessels, Offshore Patrol Vessel, Inshore Patrol Vessels, Fast Patrol Vessels, Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts,¨Hovercrafts, Fast Interceptor Boats etc. Proven capabilities for in-house ship design & shipbuilding towards indigenous warship construction program
- Specialists in Corvettes, LCUs and Amphibious platforms (Delivered 10 Corvettes, 08 LCUs & 05 LSTs) Only Defence Shipyard to have diversified into Engineering Business
