India Approves ₹40,000-Crore Plan for Eight Navy Corvettes

India’s Cabinet Committee on Security has approved a project worth more than ₹40,000 crore to build eight corvettes for the Navy, according to reports citing government officials. The decision was made at a meeting on Wednesday, October 28, and advances a procurement first given initial approval in 2022. The approval is reported; signed construction contracts have not been established. The planned contracts are expected to go to Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), with GRSE assigned five vessels and GSL three, according to the reported plan. The contracts are expected in the coming days. The Cabinet Committee on Security is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Navy is targeting delivery of the first corvette by 2030. Reports describe the vessels as based on a design developed in-house by the Navy for a range of maritime security roles, including surveillance, escort, deterrence and coastal defence. The reported material does not establish a delivery schedule for all eight ships. The project’s estimated cost was about ₹36,000 crore when the Defence Acquisition Council gave it initial procurement approval in June...