Pipavav Shipyard and Cochin Shipyard eyes four icebreaker ships

02 Jan 2025 CW Team

Swan Energy-promoted Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL) and state-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd are in advanced talks with Russia to construct two non-nuclear icebreaker ships each in a government brokered deal estimated to cost over Rs 40 billion for Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company ROSATOM to support its Northern Sea Route (NSR) development plan, multiple sources said. A top-level team from Swan’s shipyard located at Pipavav in Gujarat, comprising its Chief Executive Officer, Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena, (IN Retd), visited Moscow in early December to discuss the ice breaker shipbuilding order, a government official briefed on the visit said.Describing the three-day trip as “very successful”, the government official said, “Russia wants Pipavav Shipyard and Cochin Shipyard to finalise the order and start as soon as possible”. An icebreaker ship is used to break ice which makes it easier to melt, becoming water that absorbs more sunlight. Icebreakers play a crucial role in providing response capacity for crises and disasters in ice-covered waters. Russia is pitching the Northern Sea Route as an alternate global shipping lane, offering quicker transit time between Northern Europe and East Asia than the conventional Suez Canal route. Russia’s keenness to build four ice breaker ships in India has been bolstered by the return of President elect Donald Trump to the White House. “You can see Trump openly supporting Russia and vice versa with Putin. The Russians are very gung-ho about Trump taking over as President of the United States of America in mid-January when things are expected to fall in place,” the official said. Russia is enticing Indian yards to build the ice breaker ships for ROSATOM, holding out a promise to order big ships later, he said. “Russia wants to do everything with us; you take big bulkers, tankers and container ships especially with shipbuilding being given a thrust by the government. And, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Putin are syncing well,” the official said.

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

Balu Forge Secures Artillery Shell Order

Balu Forge Industries has secured an initial contract to supply 30,000 units of 152 mm artillery shells to a major Indian energetics player. Supplies under the order are scheduled to commence in June 2026, marking a key step in the company’s expansion into the domestic defence sector.The order is expected to scale up to more than 100,000 shells with additional variants. The agreement also provides for the inclusion of further ammunition variants in the production pipeline, enabling the company to address evolving artillery requirements.The order will be executed through BFIL’s fully automa..

Government Notifies Two SEZs in Puducherry

The Government has notified two new Special Economic Zones in the Union Territory of Puducherry following approval by the Board of Approval for SEZs under the Department of Commerce at its one hundred and thirty-seventh meeting on 27 February 2026. The approvals are presented as part of a drive to strengthen the country’s industrial base, expand exports and deepen self-reliance in strategic sectors. Authorities described the decisions as milestones for Puducherry’s industrial and export-led growth strategy and as measures expected to expand opportunities for investment, manufacturing and h..

Canada India Launches Trade And Investment Forum

Canadian and Indian ministers met to reaffirm their shared commitment to strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties and to deliver tangible outcomes that support economic growth and increased commercial opportunities for businesses in both countries. The Indian minister welcomed the delegation noted as the largest Indian delegation ever sent anywhere in the world and highlighted opportunities to deepen cooperation across complementary sectors such as clean energy, critical minerals, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies and skills development. Both ministers reiterated..