West Bengal to become global shipbuilding hub: Rajnath Singh

Kolkata: West Bengal is set to become one of the biggest and major ship-building hubs in the world, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday. Singh, who is in Kolkata to kick off the 'Seva Se Sankalp Abhiyan' starting Thursday, said defence production has increased four-fold to approximately Rs 1.80 lakh crore and India is exporting defence equipment to more than 100 countries.

The 'Seva Se Sankalp Abhiyan' will start from September 17 and continue till October 17, with 12 nation-wide programmes focused on service, social welfare and public participation. The programme commemorates Modi's 25 years in public service. "In the last 12 years, 25 crore people have been brought out of poverty line while more than 94 crore people have come under the social security net," he said.

Before 2014, India was often described as an economy that was "over-regulated" and "under-governed". Today, India is 'well-regulated' and 'properly governed' with the Indian economy growing at a 7.8% growth rate, he claimed. A high-level source at the Bengal state secretariat told ET that a new shipbuilding facility is likely to be built in East Midnapore district's Haldia. Singh also highlighted the importance given to West Bengal's rich heritage and said that for the first time, "all six stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' were sung from the Red Fort on Independence Day, paying respect to Bengal."


Appreciating Suvendu Adhikari's performance, Singh said, "Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modiji, a new government has been formed in Bengal and the new chief minister's performance is being discussed across various states in India".