New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth ₹53,866.50 crore with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) on November 2 for the construction of eight Next Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy. The contracts are signed in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
Follow Defence Watch on LinkedIN
Under the contracts, Kolkata-based GRSE will build five corvettes, while GSL will construct the remaining three. The project marked a significant milestone in indigenous warship manufacturing, as the vessels will be designed by the Indian Navy and built by defence public sector undertakings selected through a competitive process.
The corvettes will feature advanced missiles, weapons and sensor suites, enabling operations across air, surface and subsurface domains. Their roles will include anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, coastal defence, littoral combat, maritime surveillance and protection of vital sea-trade routes.
The programme is also expected to strengthen India's domestic shipbuilding supply chain through collaboration among defence PSUs, private shipyards and Indian industrial partners, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Construction is projected to generate approximately 72 lakh person-days of employment in shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industries and MSMEs over the next decade.
The contracts advanced India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat drive in defence manufacturing by promoting indigenous technologies, Indian-made equipment and domestic industrial expertise. Once inducted, the eight corvettes will add to the Navy's ability to maintain maritime presence and respond to emerging security challenges across India's surrounding waters.
(Defence Watch– India’s Defence News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)