India To Sign Rs 32,000-Crore Deal For 12 Minesweepers Under Make In India Initiative

The government will likely sign a 32,000-crore deal with a South Korean shipyard for the construction of 12 minesweeping vessels for the Indian Navy by 31 March. The deal will involve the transfer of technology and the vessels will be built at the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative.

“We are working hard to conclude the contract this financial year. Technology transfer is a complex issue, and both sides have to be satisfied. Ironing out the details took some time,” Hindustan Times quoted GSL chairman Rear Admiral Shekhar Mital (retd) as saying.

Minesweepers are small naval warship designed to remove mines near enemy shores that can detonate on contact and destroy a warship. De-mining operations are performed when warships are required to enter enemy territorial waters to mount attacks on naval installations. Mines can also get activated by magnetic and acoustic signatures of the warship.

India currently operates six Soviet-era minesweeping vessels that are largely obsolete now. These ships will be decommissioned by 2025. To maintain its edge over the adversaries in the neighborhood, the Indian Navy needs at least 24 new minesweeping vessels.

Construction will begin in 2018 and the vessels will be delivered between 2021 and 2026. The minesweepers will have 60 per cent indigenous content and will be built in collaboration with South Korea-based Kangnam Corporation.