India Approves $4.2 Billion Program for Eight Corvettes

India's Cabinet Committee on Security gave the green light to a program valued at more than 400,000 million rupees (about $4.2 billion) to build eight next-generation corvettes for the Indian Navy. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) will build five of the vessels, while Goa Shipyard will take charge of the remaining three, with delivery of the first vessel expected by 2030.

The approval was granted at a meeting of the Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held on October 28, 2026. The vessels, designed in-house by the Indian Navy, will have a displacement of around 2,000 tonnes and a speed of approximately 30 knots.

The program had received Acceptance of Necessity from the Defence Acquisition Council in June 2022, when the Ministry of Defence estimated its cost at around 360,000 million rupees ($3.78 billion). GRSE emerged as the lowest bidder (L1) in May 2025, securing the allocation of five vessels, while Goa Shipyard was identified as L2 for the remaining three; GRSE valued its share at around 330,000 million rupees ($3.47 billion).

The final contracts were signed on November 2, 2026, in New Delhi, for an amount of 53,866.50 crore rupees ($5.6 billion), in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. According to the Ministry of Defence, this marks the first time that warships designed by the Indian Navy will be built by public sector defence companies selected through a competitive process.

The corvettes will feature missiles, weaponry and advanced sensor systems to operate across the air, surface and underwater domains, carrying out surveillance, escort, deterrence, surface action group operations, search and strike, and coastal defence functions. The Ministry of Defence estimated that construction of the eight vessels will generate around 72 lakh man-days of employment at the shipyards and 460 lakh additional man-days in ancillary industries and SMEs over the next ten years.