KOLKATA. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., (GRSE), a Miniratna Category 1 Defence PSU and a leading warship building company of India, operating under administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, celebrated its 60th Raising Day of becoming a Defence PSU on April 19, 2019.
GRSE celebrated the occasion with much fanfare on April 19 & 20. The event on April 19 was an in-house affair which saw wholehearted and enthusiastic participation from all sections of GRSE employees including Rear Admiral V. K. Saxena, IN (Retd) Chairman and Managing Director. Employees were awarded in recognition of their contribution and retired workers who had served the Company for 40 years were felicitated. The event culminated in a colourful cultural programme.
April 20, 2019 was an evening of grandeur as Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The Hon’ble Governor inaugurated the event by cutting a ceremonial cake and marking a formal beginning of the celebrations. He also unveiled a book titled, ‘“Voyage to the Centennial Warship” – a memorabilia celebrating and chronicling GRSE’s commendable journey spanning from its delivery of the first indigenous warship of Independent India to Indian Navy in 1961 till the recent landmark of delivering the 100th warship, Landing Craft Utility, IN LCU – L-56 to Indian Navy. The Hon’ble Governor also released a copy of ‘GRSE Varta 2019’, an Annual In-House Journal during this event.
Demonstrating a very moving gesture, Rear Admiral V. K. Saxena, IN (Retd.), the Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE felicitated and applauded all the former Chairman and Managing Directors of GRSE in presence of Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, Director (Finance), SS Dogra, Director(Personnel), AK Nanda, Director(Shipbuilding), Cmde S Nayyar, Chief Vigilance Officer D Mahto, (on the dais) and senior officials of GRSE and distinguished guests.
Interestingly, GRSE delivered its 100th warship to the Indian Navy on March 30, 2019 – an achievement that makes GRSE the first Indian shipyard to build and deliver 100 warships to the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Mauritius Coast Guard.
Six Decades of GRSE
The genesis of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd.(GRSE) dates back to 1884 when it started its journey as a small workshop to repair vessels of River Steam Navigation Company. The Company was taken over by the Government of India in 1960 after which there was no looking back. The first warship of Independent India, INS Ajay was delivered to the Indian Navy in 1961 – which is within one year of being taken over by the Ministry of Defence.
Over last 59 years, GRSE has built around 780 Platforms which include 100 warships to Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard & Government of Mauritius – the highest number of warships built and delivered by any shipyard of the country. From building 5 Ton Boats to 24600 Ton Fleet Tanker, GRSE has done it all and has proved its mettle as a pioneer warship builder of the nation.
The company was conferred the status of a Mini Ratna Category 1 Company in the year 2006 and the shipyard has proudly received ISO 9001, 14001 , 18001 and 50001 certification. The first warship for export by the Country, was also delivered by GRSE to Mauritius in 2014 – our Offshore Patrol Vessel, named, CGS Barracuda.
Primary Role of GRSE has been to build warships and other vessels for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. Over the years, GRSE has established ace capabilities in the field of in-house ship design & shipbuilding and has made significant contribution to the success of indigenous warship construction programme in the country.
GRSE has also emerged as a leading shipyard of India, building a wide array of vessels, from world class Frigates to Fast Attack Crafts. The shipyard completed its infrastructure modernization and has successfully built an Integrated Shipbuilding Facility in 2013 in order to build quality ships in lesser timeframe with Modular Construction Technology.
GRSE currently boasts of its capacity to build 20 warships (8 large and 12 small) simultaneously. Apart from shipbuilding and ship repairing, the company has also diversified into engineering business with a product profile of Pre-fabricated Portable Steel Bridges, various Deck Machinery items and Assembly/ Testing/Overhauling of MTU Diesel Engines.
First to Credit
- First Shipyard of Independent India to build a Seaward Defence Boat (SDB): INS Ajay was delivered to the Indian Navy in 1961. This ship was later gifted to Bangladesh and was reamed as BNS Surma.
- First Ever Patrol Vessel built for Indian Coast Guard: December 23, 1980 would remain a red letter day in the history of both GRSE & Indian Coast Guard when the first ever Patrol Vessel built for Indian Coast Guard CGS Rajhans was commissioned.
- First Ever Indigenous Survey Vessel: The first Survey Vessel for Indian Navy was also designed and built by GRSE. This ship, INS Sandhayak, was commissioned on February, 1981.
- The Landing Ship Tanks built by GRSE were termed as Landing Ship Tanks (Large) in order to differentiate from the medium sized LSTs, then in service with Indian Navy. The First of Class LST (L) designed in-house & built by GRSE, INS Magar was commissioned in 1987.
- Only Indian Shipyard to have built a Fleet Replenishment Tanker: INS Aditya, the largest built Fleet Replenishment Tanker was delivered to the Indian Navy in March, 2000.
- First Indian Shipyard to have built Hovercrafts: GRSE has built a total of six Hovercrafts for the Indian Coast Guard. The First Hovercraft, H-181, was commissioned on September 18, 2000.
- First Ever Warship Built in Indian for Export: CGS Barracuda was commissioned at Port Louis, Mauritius on March 12, 2015, in the august presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jagnauth. This was a historic occasion for India, and GRSE in particular. The in-house design and construction of this first ever export warship of the country has been yet another feather in the cap of GRSE.
- First Indian Shipyard to integrate carbon composite superstructure with steel hull on board 3rd ASW Corvette, INS Kiltan delivered to Indian Navy on October 14, 2017.
- First Defence Public Sector Undertaking shipyard to get listed in Stock Exchange on October 10, 2018.
- First Defence PSU to go live on TReDS Platform on August 9, 2018.
Recent Feats
- Record delivery of eight warships in 22 months (Jun 2017 – March 2019).
- 13 Warships delivered in last Four Years (FY 2014-15 to FY 2018-19).
- Kamorta Class Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes & Landing Craft Utility Ships have the distinction of achieving over 90% indigenous equipment fit.
- The design R & D Unit of GRSE has been recognized by Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology.
