Kolkata: Wagon and metro rake maker Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL) said it has inched closer to build warships of "certain categories" for the Indian Navy, in West Bengal. The ship building arm of TWL operates out of Titagarh in North 24 Parganas district. "We have recently received permission to build warships of certain categories," TWL chairman JP Chowdhary told PTI. He said the firm will now bid for building high-end naval vessels. "We will build the warships in our Bengal facilities," he said. Till now, only Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) built warships in the state. TWL had constructed two 1000T fuel barges for Indian Navy, which were designed for refueling aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in the deep seas. "We have also supplied two coastal research vessels to National Institute of Ocean Studies. Construction of these four vessels had earned us immense reputation," he added. The four ships with a total worth of Rs 200 crore were TWLs first tenders in ship-building. The firm is an "industry partner" to DRDO and holds an industrial license for defence manufacturing. TWL has its facilities in Titagarh and Uttarpara in West Bengal and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. Chowdhary said necessary infrastructure to build the warships will be procured on getting the orders. Defence procurement norms have been relaxed by the central government in terms of meeting pre-requisite criteria for manufacturing to ensure greater participation of MSMEs.

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