New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- The government has approved a project worth more than Rs 40,000 crore to build eight next-generation corvettes for the Indian Navy, adding a fleet of indigenous stealth warships designed to strengthen maritime security, anti-submarine warfare and surveillance across the Indian Ocean Region. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday. Contracts with two state-owned shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), are expected to be signed in the coming days, officials said.
The eight vessels will be compact, high-speed, multi-role combatants, each with a displacement of approximately 2,000 tonnes and a maximum speed of around 30 knots. Their design has been developed indigenously by the Indian Navy and incorporates stealth capabilities.
The corvettes will undertake a range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface operations, maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, coastal defence, and search-and-attack missions. Their induction is expected to strengthen the Navy's presence across the Indian Ocean while reducing operational pressure on larger frontline warships.
The new vessels will also complement the Navy's existing four Kamorta-class corvettes, which are primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare. Deliveries of the first ship are targeted to begin by 2030, with efforts underway to accelerate construction.
The programme will be executed entirely by Indian shipyards, supporting domestic defence manufacturing and shipbuilding capabilities. It also forms part of the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and aligns with its SAGAR vision, or Security and Growth for All in the Region.
The Defence Acquisition Council had granted the project's Acceptance of Necessity in June 2022 at an estimated cost of around Rs 36,000 crore. The latest approval clears the way for the final contracts and construction.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.