Machines, technology and capital can all be bought, but not the skill of a welder’s hand or the judgement of an experienced officer, Hindustan Shipyard Limited’s chairman and managing director, Rear Admiral Chandrasekharan Raghuram, VSM (retired), told employees on Saturday as the shipyard marked the 80th Independence Day.
Calling the workforce the shipyard’s “true capital and real strength,” the C&MD said that quality, on-time delivery and trust ultimately rested with the people on the shop floor, not with equipment alone.
The remarks came at a flag-unfurling ceremony at the HSL Colony parade ground, where the C&MD reviewed a parade of security and fire service personnel, NCC cadets, Rover Scouts, Scouts & Guides, and students from HSL and nearby schools in Visakhapatnam.
Founded in 1941, HSL has built and repaired vessels for the Indian Navy and other clients for more than eight decades. Rear Admiral Raghuram said this work amounted to “a tribute to the sacrifices that gave us freedom,” and described the yard’s role in strategic platforms, complex shipbuilding and refits as part of India’s push towards self-reliance under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme. He said the shipyard should aim to become the yard that the country “turns to first” for such work, in step with India’s target of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
The C&MD also spoke about welfare measures for staff, saying a stronger shipyard needed a stronger community around it. HSL would keep investing in training and quality-of-life initiatives for employees, he said, and thanked families for the support that, in his words, sustains Team HSL.
Commendation letters were given out for exemplary service, and the winners of a Clean & Green competition were felicitated at the event. The C&MD and other directors planted saplings as part of the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative. Schoolchildren closed out the programme with cultural performances.