The Centre has given clearance to Defence Ministry and Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., to begin negotiations for the Rs 70,000 crore deal to buy six submarines to be built in India with German support under 'Project 75 India'.
"The negotiations for the project and the process is expected to start by the end of this month," Defence officials told ANI.
In January, the Defence Ministry had selected state-owned Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders for building six submarines with Air Independent Propulsion systems with Germen ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as its partner.
The Indian Navy is looking to buy six advanced submarines with the ability to stay underwater for three weeks under Project 75 India, and the German AIP would allow it to do so, as per reports.
The Defence Ministry and the Indian Navy expect to conclude contract negotiations within the next six months and secure final approval. The contract aims to develop indigenous capabilities for designing and manufacturing conventional submarines in India.
The government is also exploring ways to accelerate the submarine building process, as Indian Navy is likely to phase out around 10 of its submarines in the next decade and would require their replacements in the same timeframe.
Further as per report, India is also working on building two nuclear attack submarines, where Larsen and Toubro Ltd., and Submarine Building Centre would play a big role.
This decision follows China's recent delivery of the third Hangor-class submarine to Pakistan, part of an eight-submarine deal aimed at bolstering Islamabad's naval capabilities in the Indian Ocean.
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