Kolkata, Aug. 24 -- The current situation in the maritime industry presents a golden opportunity for India to bridge the gap between demand and production, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday. Virtually addressing an event in Kolkata, the minister laid the foundation of five expansion projects worth Rs.3,500 crore for the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), a Nav Ratna PSU, and Yantra India Ltd. As part of these projects, GRSE signed lease agreements with the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) for two shipyards on either bank of the Hooghly river, along with a 32-acre riverside facility at Raichak. "The demand for all types of vessels is rising. Our navy is expanding and so are the challenges in maritime defence. Nations such as the UK once expanded their empires with maritime power. But their shipbuilding capacities have decreased in recent years. There is a gap in global shipbuilding capacity. This is a golden opportunity for India," Singh said. "There are many reasons behind the global changes in ship production. One reason is that it takes around five years to build a ship and by the time you complete it the technology used in its various systems and weapons is often outdated," he added. Singh said India could emerge as a global hub for ship design, citing the country's large pool of new-generation engineers. "We can also become a hub of ship repair, maintenance and overhaul in the Indian Ocean region," he said....