The Defence Ministry signed contracts worth ₹53,866.50 crore with two defence public sector undertakings for the construction of eight Next Generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd will build five corvettes, while Goa Shipyard Ltd will construct the remaining three. The agreements were signed at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

The ministry stated this marks the first instance of warships being indigenously designed by the Indian Navy and awarded for construction to DPSUs selected through a competitive process. The Next Generation Corvettes will be equipped with advanced missiles, weapons and sensor suites, enabling operations across air, surface and sub-surface domains. Their induction will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities in safeguarding maritime trade routes and conducting anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations.

The project is also expected to provide a boost to the domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem, with participation from private shipyards, Indian industrial partners and micro, small and medium enterprises. According to the ministry, construction of the eight warships is expected to generate around 72 lakh person-days of employment in the shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industries and MSMEs over the next 10 years.

The contracts were signed on Monday, marking a major push to indigenous warship manufacturing. The Defence Ministry highlighted the strategic importance of the Next Generation Corvettes in strengthening coastal defence, undertaking littoral combat operations and carrying out maritime presence and surveillance missions. The initiative underscores the government’s commitment to enhancing naval capabilities through domestic shipbuilding.