Giving a major boost to the Indian defence industry, the defence ministry on Monday inked a contract worth Rs 53, 866 crore with two state-run shipbuilders to procure Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) for the Indian Navy.
The contracts were signed with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), the ministry said. Under the contracts, GRSE will construct five corvettes, while GSL will construct the remaining three,” the ministry said. “The project marks a significant milestone in India’s indigenous warship design and construction capabilities, as it is the first project in which the ships will be indigenously designed by the Indian Navy and constructed by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) selected through a competitive process,” the ministry said in a statement.
The NGCs will be equipped with state-of-the-art capabilities. Their induction will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities in safeguarding maritime trade routes, conducting anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations, strengthening coastal defence, undertaking littoral combat operations, and carrying out maritime presence and surveillance missions.