INDIA —The Ministry of Defence has finalized procurement contracts totaling 538.66 billion Indian rupees with defense shipbuilders Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited and Goa Shipyard Limited. Signed in New Delhi under the oversight of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, the agreement outlines the construction of eight Next Generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy, with GRSE constructing five vessels and GSL building three.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited and Goa Shipyard Limited are defense public sector undertakings operating under the Ministry of Defence, specializing in the design, construction, and repair of military warships and auxiliary naval vessels. The Ministry of Defence oversees national security policy, armed forces procurement, and defense manufacturing infrastructure across India.
Selected through a competitive bidding process, this initiative represents the first warship acquisition project based entirely on indigenous designs developed by the Indian Navy. The multi-mission corvettes will be equipped with advanced indigenous weapon suites, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare technologies, and sensor arrays to support air defense, coastal surveillance, and maritime trade protection across littoral and deep-sea operating environments.
This major procurement program carries substantial strategic value for naval defense readiness and domestic industrial supply chains. Over a projected 10-year execution schedule, the shipbuilding initiative is estimated to generate 7.2 million person-days of direct shipyard employment and 46 million person-days across ancillary micro, small, and medium enterprises, while accelerating import substitution and technology transfer across India's maritime defense sector.
