Evaluate the role of defence public sector shipbuilding in achieving Aatmanirbharta, employment generation and MSME integration.

Defence public sector shipyards are central to India's plan to build its own Navy. One example is the ₹19,000-crore contract that the Ministry of Defence awarded to Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in 2023 for five Fleet Support Ships (FSS). At 44,000 tons, they are the first ships of this kind to be built in India by an Indian shipyard [1]. These yards make a real contribution, but capacity limits and slow delivery hold it back.

Aatmanirbharta

• Indigenous design and sourcing: HSL designed the FSS itself, and most equipment is to come from Indian manufacturers [1].
• Strategic capability: the ships carry fuel, water, ammunition and stores to warships at sea. This lets the fleet stay out longer and supports blue-water operations in the Indian Ocean Region [1].
• New capacity: HSL's upgraded Slipway-4 can launch ships of up to 45,000 DWT, and it has a new 300-tonne Goliath crane. Together they allow HSL to build large, complex hulls [2].

Employment generation

• The project is expected to create about 168.8 lakh mandays of work over eight years [1].
• It also builds a skilled shipbuilding workforce, a long-term national asset.

MSME and industry integration

• The contract is expected to bring in associated industries, including MSMEs [1].
• Public–private sharing: HSL has subcontracted two FSS to L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli. The aim is to use the country's shipbuilding capacity better and meet delivery deadlines [3].

Limitations

• Infrastructure and delays: the CAG found that weak infrastructure at public sector shipyards, along with unrealistic cost estimates, delayed warship projects [4].
• Long build times: deliveries begin only in mid-2027 [3], about four years after the contract.
• Claims, not measured results: the official figures on MSME share and indigenous content describe what is intended. They are not yet audited results.
• Risk of idle capacity: Slipway-4 needs a steady flow of orders after the FSS programme ends.

Overall, public sector yards do advance self-reliance, jobs and supplier networks, but they deliver on these only partly so far. To do better, the Department of Defence Production should track and publish delivery progress for each ship. Naval and merchant orders should be planned together so new slipways stay busy, and public–private build sharing should become a standard model. With these steps, public sector shipbuilding could become a working pillar of Make in India and SDG-9, beyond being a symbol.