JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has not rejected plans for acquisition of a shipyard in India, USC Chief Executive Officer Alexei Rakhmanov said in a news briefing on August 24, 2021. Previously, media reported that USC left from a final stage of auction of bankrupt Indian private shipyard Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited (BSE:533107). Rakhmanov said that the deal demanded a detailed and prolonged technical audit that was impossible to finish due to a catastrophic situation with the coronavirus in India. “We fell out from this race, but we have other alternatives, we are still considering them," he said. “We have a goal of optimizing our presence in India. We still have to fulfill the tasks that the Indian government sets for us within the Make In India format, it is inevitable. It is obvious that is much more difficult to sit on three different chairs that to sit on one sturdy chair, everything is heading there," he said.