The central government has issued a tender for building six conventional submarines for the Indian Navy under Project-75 India to Indian Mazagon Dockyards Limited and Larsen and Toubro. The mega submarine project is worth Rs 43,000 crore.
These two Indian companies would now select one partner each from the five global original equipment manufacturers including firms from France, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Spain.
Once built, the submarines will boost the Indian Navy's subsurface capabilities, which is fast expanding its arsenal to match up with the Chinese Navy.
In June 2021, the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved RFP for the construction of six submarines at an approx cost of Rs 43,000 crore.
Project 75(I) is the second project being undertaken under the Strategic Partnership (SP) Model, which aims to expand the Indian Navy's submarine fleet.
"This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects and will serve to facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology and create a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India. From a strategic perspective, this will help reduce current dependence on imports and gradually ensure greater self-reliance and dependability of supplies from indigenous sources," the defence ministry stated.
