Defence Ministry signs contract for the acquisition of two multi-purpose vessels for the Indian Navy

New Delhi, March 26, 2022

The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro Limited for the acquisition of two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) for the Indian Navy at an overall cost of Rs 887 crore under the “Buy-Indian” category.

The contract was signed on Friday in the presence of Vice Admiral S N Ghormade, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Pankaj Agarwal, Additional Secretary & Director General Acquisition.

The delivery of the vessels is scheduled to commence from May 2025, the Ministry said in a press release.

The MPVs will be the first of its kind platform, constructed to provide a cost-effective solution to meet a variety of requirements of the Indian Navy. These vessels, to be built by the L&T shipyard at Kattupally (Chennai), will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/ recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for Gunnery/ ASW firing exercises.

These vessels would also be capable of towing ships and rendering Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) support with limited hospital ship capability. They will also act as trial platforms for naval weapons and sensors under development, a support platform for ISV & salvage operations, and provide logistics support for India’s island territories.

"This contract will further boost and encourage active participation of the Indian shipbuilding industry in consonance with the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India) initiatives of the Government. With a majority of the equipment and system sourced from indigenous manufacturers, these vessels will be a proud flag-bearer of the 'Make in India, Make for the World' initiative of the Ministry of Defence.

NNN