Centre clears Rs 40,000-crore plan for eight Navy corvettes from Kolkata's GRSE and Goa Shipyard

The Centre has cleared a project worth more than Rs 40,000 crore to build eight next-generation corvettes for the Indian Navy at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata and Goa Shipyard Limited, according to government officials quoted by ANI.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the project at a meeting on Wednesday, October 28, the officials said. Contracts with the two state-owned shipyards are expected to be signed in the next few days, and the first ship is targeted for delivery by 2030.

The ships

The corvettes are described as fast surface combatants of about 2,000 tonnes with a top speed of around 30 knots, built to a new stealth design developed in-house by the Navy, ANI reported. News Karnataka said they are meant for anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare as well as maritime surveillance and coastal security, and will have more than 70 per cent indigenous content. Construction of the first ship is expected to begin within a year.

The Ministry of Defence has described them as multi-role platforms for the Indian Ocean Region, linking the project to the government's maritime policy and its push for domestic defence manufacturing.

Neither the officials nor the reports said how the eight ships will be divided between the two yards. In 2025, GRSE was reported to have been the lowest bidder for five of them, with the remaining three going to the second bidder at the same unit price.

Background

The next-generation corvette programme, also known as Project 28A, has been in the works for several years. The Defence Acquisition Council first cleared the purchase of eight ships in June 2022, at an estimated Rs 36,000 crore. Price negotiations were reported to be complete in May 2026, when the programme was put at about Rs 33,000 crore; the reports on the latest approval put it at more than Rs 40,000 crore. The reports do not explain the difference.

Earlier plans published for the class also gave different specifications, with a displacement of 3,800-4,000 tonnes, a 76 mm main gun, eight anti-ship missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes. The figures released with this week's approval are lower, and the final design details have not been made public. The ships are expected to succeed the Navy's ageing Khukri- and Kora-class corvettes. Reports in 2024 said indigenous marine diesel engines for the class were being developed under the government's Make-I scheme, with the government funding most of the development cost.

For GRSE, one of the country's main warship builders and a major industrial employer in Kolkata, the order adds to a pipeline that already includes frigates and anti-submarine shallow-water craft for the Navy.

What happens next

Signing of the contracts is the next step. Once signed, the yards will begin detailed design and steel-cutting, with the first hull expected to be laid down within a year and delivered by 2030, according to the reports. Officials told ANI that efforts are under way to speed up construction.