Next Generation Corvettes contracts worth Rs 53,866.50 crore were signed by the Ministry of Defence on Monday with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for eight warships for the Indian Navy.

That is an average of about Rs 6,733 crore a ship.

The 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels ordered from the same two yards in March 2023 cost around Rs 9,781 crore together. This order is more than five times that figure, for three fewer ships.

GRSE gets five corvettes and Goa Shipyard three

GRSE will build five ships and GSL three. The contract folders shown at the signing were marked for five and three corvettes.

GRSE emerged as the lowest bidder when commercial bids were opened on 21 May 2025. The lowest bidder was to get five ships, and the second lowest the remaining three at the same unit cost.

Next Generation Corvettes contracts follow CCS approval last week

The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity on 6 June 2022 at an estimated cost of around Rs 36,000 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the project on 28 October.

Officials had put its value at over Rs 40,000 crore at that stage. The Next Generation Corvettes contracts signed on Monday stand at Rs 53,866.50 crore.

Navy's own stealth design sets 2,000 tonnes and 30 knots

The ships will be built to a new in-house stealth design from the Indian Navy. Each will displace around 2,000 tonnes and reach speeds of around 30 knots, officials said. Reports at the time of the CCS clearance put indigenous content at more than 70 percent.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the corvettes will handle surveillance, escort operations, deterrence, Surface Action Group operations, search and attack missions and coastal defence. An official said earlier this year they would carry eight extended range BrahMos cruise missiles.

First ship targeted for 2030

Construction of the first corvette is expected to begin within a year, with delivery targeted for 2030. Efforts are under way to speed up the timeline, officials said.

New corvettes to succeed Khukri and Kora classes

The eight ships are intended to succeed the Navy's Khukri and Kora class corvettes.

GRSE's record includes six missile corvettes of those two classes and four Kamorta class anti-submarine corvettes. The yard, which holds Navratna status, launched NGOPV Shreyas on 10 October. GSL launched NGOPV Srishti on 27 October.

At the Navy's tri commissioning in Kolkata on 21 June, the Prime Minister said 45 major platforms were under construction.