New Delhi, October 30, 2026: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a major project to construct eight Next Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 40,000 crore. The decision, taken in a meeting held on Wednesday, marks one of the largest recent warship-building clearances and is expected to significantly strengthen the Navy’s surface fleet and operational flexibility in the Indian Ocean Region.
Top government officials told ANI that contracts for the eight warships will be signed in the next few days with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). Under the arrangement, GRSE, which had emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) when commercial bids were opened in May 2025, will construct five corvettes, while GSL will build the remaining three at matching unit cost.
The Indian Navy is expected to receive the first vessel by 2030. Officials indicated that the shipyards are examining ways to accelerate the programme and deliver the ships earlier.
Role and Design of the Next Generation Corvettes
According to the Ministry of Defence, the NGCs will be versatile platforms capable of undertaking surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, Surface Action Group (SAG) operations, search-and-attack missions, and coastal defence. They will be built to a new in-house design developed by the Indian Navy, incorporating the latest shipbuilding technologies. The project is also expected to advance the government’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative.
Recent reports describe the corvettes as warships of approximately 2,000 tonnes displacement, with top speeds of around 30 knots. They are intended to succeed the ageing Khukri-class and Kora-class corvettes currently in service.
Programme Background
The Defence Acquisition Council had granted Acceptance of Necessity for the eight NGCs in June 2022, then valued at around Rs 36,000 crore. GRSE was declared L1 in May 2025. Price negotiations were completed in 2026, and hydrodynamic model testing was successfully concluded by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) in collaboration with the Warship Design Bureau. The CCS clearance removes the final major hurdle before contract signing.
The approval is expected to provide a substantial order book boost to both GRSE and GSL, supporting indigenous warship construction under the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat framework in defence manufacturing. The first deliveries in the early 2030s will help the Navy maintain a modern, multi-role surface combatant inventory for littoral and open-sea operations.
This development forms part of the Indian Navy’s ongoing efforts to induct contemporary platforms capable of distributed operations across the Indian Ocean Region.
