Two Indian, five foreign yards cleared for submarine project

THE PROJECT WILL BE PURSUED UNDER THE GOVT’S ‘STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP’ MODEL, WHICH SEEKS TO PROVIDE FILLIP TO ITS MAKE IN INDIA INITIATIVE

NEW DELHI : The defence ministry on Tuesday cleared two Indian and five foreign shipbuilders to take part in a ₹50,000-crore project to build high-tech submarines in the country, one of the biggest Make in India programmes in the military sector, two senior officials said on condition of anonymity.

Six advanced submarines will be built under project P-75I to scale up the Indian Navy’s undersea warfare capabilities and counter the rapid expansion of China’s submarine fleet. The project will be pursued under the government’s ‘strategic partnership’ (SP) model, which seeks to provide fillip to the government’s Make in India programme. “The defence acquisition council (DAC) approved the shortlisting of Indian strategic partners and potential original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) who would collaborate to construct six conventional submarines in India,” the defence ministry said in a statement on

Tuesday. The Indian strategic partners cleared to collaborate with the foreign OEMS are Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and L&T, said one of the officials cited above. The foreign yards they can team up with for the project are the French Naval Group, German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Russia’s Rubin Design Bureau, Spain’s Navantia and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company, he said. A joint venture between the Adani Group and state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited was rejected by an empowered committee as it did not meet the eligibility criteria for being shortlisted as a strategic partner, the second official said.