Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Ministry of Defence Inks ₹53,866.50 Crore Contracts with GRSE & GSL for 8 Next Generation Corvettes

KOCHI: In a major boost to indigenous defence manufacturing, the Ministry of Defence signed landmark contracts worth ₹53,866.50 crore with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the acquisition of eight Next Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy. The contracts were signed in New Delhi on November 02, 2026, in the presence of Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh. Under the competitive procurement project, GRSE will construct five corvettes while GSL will build the remaining three. Marking a historical milestone in warship building, the NGCs represent the first project where ships are indigenously designed by the Indian Navy and constructed by competitively selected Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). Equipped with advanced missiles, state-of-the-art weapon and sensor suites for multi-domain warfare across air, surface, and sub-surface operation areas, the induction will bolster the Navy’s capability in protecting maritime trade routes, anti-surface/anti-submarine operations, and coastal surveillance. The project is projected to generate 72 lakh person-days of employment in shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industries and MSMEs over the next decade, strongly reinforcing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make-in-India’.