New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved the construction of eight next generation corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy in a deal valued at more than ₹40,000 crore. The project will be split between two state-owned shipyards.
The CCScleared the proposal at its meeting on Wednesday, senior government officials told ANI. They said the contracts with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) were expected to be signed within days.
Delivery from 2030
The Navy expects the first of the eight ships to join the fleet by 2030, once the contracts are signed. Officials said the two shipyards were looking at ways to speed up construction and deliver the vessels ahead of schedule.
Corvettes are compact surface combatants. ANI’s report put the NGCs at about 2,000 tonnes with a top speed of about 30 knots. Other industry reports have cited a larger displacement, and the final figures are likely to be confirmed only when the contracts are signed.
Roles and design
The Ministry of Defence said recently that the NGCs would be versatile platforms. It listed their roles as surveillance, escort duties, deterrence, Surface Action Group operations, search-and-attack missions and coastal defence.
The ships will be built to a new in-house design of the Navy, using modern shipbuilding technology. The government says the project supports its SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative for the Indian Ocean.
A long road to approval
The clearance ends a process that began years ago. The Navy first prepared to build seven corvettes in October 2016, with a requirement for a range of at least 4,000 nautical miles and a speed of 27 knots. The Defence Acquisition Council approved the procurement in June 2022, at an estimated cost of $4.6 billion.
The Ministry of Defence opened the commercial bids on May 21, 2025, and GRSE emerged as the lowest bidder (L1).
Under the bid structure, GRSE was to build five ships, while the second-lowest bidder would build the remaining three at the same unit cost. GSL, the second-lowest bidder, gets the three-ship share, according to reports.
GRSE told investors earlier that all commercial and technical parameters had been finalized, and that its share was pegged at about ₹33,000 crore.
Replacing an ageing class
The eight corvettes are meant to succeed the Khukri and Kora-class ships now in service. They are expected to combine anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine capability in one platform.
GRSE has delivered 111 warships to the Indian and friendly foreign navies, including six missile corvettes of the Khukri and Kora classes and four anti-submarine warfare corvettes of the Kamorta class. It is already building Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels, Project 17A frigates and anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft for the Navy. The new order is expected to rebuild an order book that had slipped below ₹20,000 crore.
