New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a project worth over ₹40,000 crore to build eight Next-Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy. The clearance, granted on October 28, marked a major step in the Navy’s fleet modernisation programme, with the warships intended to strengthen maritime security across the Indian Ocean Region.
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The eight vessels will be constructed by two public-sector shipyards: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), Goa. GRSE is expected to build five corvettes, while GSL will construct the remaining three. Formal contracts are expected to be signed in the coming days.
The corvettes are expected to displace around 2,000 tonnes and reach speeds of approximately 30 knots. Designed in-house by the Indian Navy, they will incorporate stealth features and modern shipbuilding technologies. Their planned roles include maritime surveillance, escort missions, deterrence, coastal defence and search-and-attack operations.
The Navy is targeting delivery of the first vessel by 2030, while the shipyards are exploring ways to accelerate construction. The programme received its initial Acceptance of Necessity in June 2022, when the estimated cost stood at around ₹36,000 crore, before progressing through the bidding and negotiation stages.
The project supports the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative by strengthening indigenous warship construction and the domestic defence-industrial ecosystem. It is also expected to enhance the Navy’s operational flexibility and contribute to India’s broader maritime-security objectives under the SAGAR vision—Security and Growth for All in the Region.
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