Cabinet Approves ₹40,000 Crore Project for 8 New Corvettes for Indian Navy

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a project to build eight new corvettes for the Indian Navy at an estimated cost exceeding ₹40,000 crore. According to official reports and defense sources, more than 70 percent of the equipment and materials for these warships will be domestically manufactured in India to support defense production and the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative.

Project Timeline and Construction

• Expected Start: Construction of the first warship is expected to begin within a year.
• Delivery Target: The delivery of these corvettes is anticipated to commence in the next 4 to 5 years, with a target to hand them over to the Navy by 2030.
• Builders: State-owned enterprises Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) based in Kolkata and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) are slated to construct the eight vessels. Formal construction contracts are expected to be finalized in the coming days.

Strategic Context

Defense sources reported that this is one of the major defense projects recently cleared at the highest government level to bolster the Indian Navy's capabilities amid evolving security challenges in the Indian Ocean region. The initiative aligns with the government's SAGAR vision.

Verification and Previous Inductions

Citizens and observers can verify official announcements through government defense portals and official press releases from the Ministry of Defence. In a related maritime development earlier this year on June 21, three indigenous naval vessels—INS Sandhayak, INS Dunagiri, and INS Agray—were commissioned into the Indian Navy in ceremonies attended by leadership to enhance fleet operations including hydrographic surveys, anti-submarine warfare, and stealth capabilities.