CCS Clears ₹40,000 Crore for 8 Next-Generation Corvettes: India's Naval Shipbuilding Projects

In news

• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved eight Next-Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy.
• The project is worth over ₹40,000 crore.

Key facts

Item	Detail
Builders	GRSE, Kolkata (5 ships) and Goa Shipyard Ltd (3 ships)
Design	New in-house design by the Indian Navy
Size and speed	About 2,000 tonnes; about 30 knots
Indigenous content	Over 70%
Roles	Anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare, escort, surveillance and coastal defence
Replaces	Older Khukri and Kora class corvettes
First delivery	Expected by 2030

Why it matters

• Strengthens sea control in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• Supports Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence and boosts domestic shipyards.
• Backs India's role as a net security provider and the vision of MAHASAGAR (earlier SAGAR).

Key concepts

• Corvette: a small, fast warship for coastal and escort duties.
• Frigate: a medium warship, mainly for escort and anti-submarine roles.
• Destroyer: a large, multi-role warship with strong air defence.
• SSK: a conventional diesel-electric submarine.
• SSN: a nuclear-powered attack submarine.
• SSBN: a nuclear-powered submarine carrying ballistic missiles. It forms the sea leg of the nuclear triad.
• AIP (Air Independent Propulsion): lets a conventional submarine stay underwater longer without surfacing.

India's major naval shipbuilding projects

Destroyers

Project	Class	Ships	Builder	Status
P-15A	Kolkata	3	MDL, Mumbai	Commissioned
P-15B	Visakhapatnam	4	MDL	All commissioned (INS Surat, 2025)
P-18	Next-generation destroyer	Planned	—	Design stage

Frigates

Project	Class	Ships	Builder	Status
P-17	Shivalik (stealth)	3	MDL	Commissioned
P-17A	Nilgiri (stealth)	7	MDL (4), GRSE (3)	Inductions since 2025
P-1135.6 follow-on	Talwar (Tushil, Tamal)	2 + 2	Russia; GSL (2)	INS Tushil and INS Tamal commissioned
P-17B	Next-generation frigate	Planned	—	Planning stage

Corvettes and smaller combatants

Project	Class / Type	Ships	Builder	Status
P-28	Kamorta (ASW corvette)	4	GRSE	Commissioned
ASW-SWC	Arnala and Mahe (shallow water ASW craft)	16	GRSE (8), CSL (8)	Inductions since 2025
NGOPV	Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel	11	GSL (7), GRSE (4)	Under construction
NGMV	Next-Generation Missile Vessel	6	CSL	Under construction
NGC	Next-Generation Corvette	8	GRSE (5), GSL (3)	Cleared by CCS (2026)

Aircraft carrier

Project	Ship	Builder	Status
P-71 (IAC-1)	INS Vikrant	Cochin Shipyard	Commissioned in 2022

Submarines

Project	Class	Boats	Builder	Status
P-75	Kalvari (Scorpene)	6	MDL with Naval Group (France)	All commissioned (INS Vagsheer, 2025)
P-75I	AIP-fitted conventional submarines	6	MDL with TKMS (Germany)	Contract stage
ATV / Arihant	SSBN	—	Ship Building Centre, Visakhapatnam	INS Arihant (2016), INS Arighaat (2024)
P-76	Indigenous conventional submarine	Planned	—	Design stage

Defence shipyards (DPSUs)

• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL), Mumbai: destroyers, frigates, submarines.
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata: frigates, corvettes, survey vessels.
• Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL): patrol vessels, frigates, corvettes.
• Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam: fleet support ships.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL): India's largest shipyard; built INS Vikrant. (Not a defence PSU; under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.)

Static connect

• Project Seabird: the naval base at Karwar, Karnataka.
• Positive Indigenisation Lists restrict imports of listed defence items.
• Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 gives priority to the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
• Strategic Partnership Model: P-75I is the first project under this model.

Way forward

• Cut build times and cost overruns in Indian shipyards.
• Speed up P-75I to arrest the decline in the submarine fleet.
• Build domestic capacity for engines, sensors and weapons, not just hulls.

Exam relevance: UPSC Prelims and GS-3 (Defence, Security); TGPSC, APPSC (Science and Technology, Defence).