IBNS-CMEDIA: India will construct eight next-generation corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy, marking a significant milestone in the country’s indigenous warship design and construction capabilities.
The acquisition will be undertaken under contracts signed by the Ministry of Defence with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
The contracts were signed in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi on November 2, 2026.
The NGCs will be equipped with state-of-the-art capabilities, including advanced missiles, weapons and sensor suites, enabling them to undertake missions across the air, surface and sub-surface domains.
The induction of these warships 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.
The NGC project is expected to provide a major boost to India’s indigenous shipbuilding ecosystem by strengthening collaboration among Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), private shipyards and Indian industrial partners, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The construction of these warships is expected to generate approximately 72 lakh person-days of employment in the shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industries and MSMEs over the next 10 years.
By promoting the use of Made-in-India materials and equipment, indigenous technologies, and Indian skills and expertise, the project represents a significant step towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in defence manufacturing.
The initiative also reinforces the commitment of the Narendra Modi-led government to its Make in India vision and strengthening India’s self-reliance in defence production.
