New Delhi [India], April 1 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cleared two important proposals for acquiring 17 warships which will help significantly boost the capabilities of the Indian Navy.

The former Navy Chief Vice Admiral SN Ghorpade (Retd) told ANI in an interview, "The PM Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared two important proposals including the six Next-Gen Missile Vessels, and 11 Next-Gen Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). This is a very significant boost to the capability of the Indian Navy".

"The approval for the acquisition of the next-gen missile vessels would help to replace the ageing missile vessels and we needed a replacement. It will give a boost to the Navy and the nation," he added.

Ghorpande further said, "The deal for the next generation offshore patrol vessels will give us surveillance capability at sea which is a must considering the vast Indian Ocean that we have to monitor and track under our mission-based deployments."The project for OPVs has been given to two shipyards including the Goa Shipyard Limited which will construct seven of these warships as the lowest bidder and the remaining four being built by another public sector shipyard.

Notably, the delivery of the ships is scheduled to commence in September 2026.The acquisition of these ships will enable the Indian Navy to maintain its combat capability and meet various operational requirements such as Anti-Piracy, Counter-Infiltration, Anti-Poaching, Anti-Trafficking, Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations, Search and Rescue (SAR), Protection of Offshore Assets etc.

The construction of these ships will generate employment of 110 lakh man-days over a period of seven and half years. (ANI)