The Defence Ministry signed a contract worth Rs 498.58 crore with Cochin Shipyard Limited on Wednesday for the normal refit and re-powering of INS Betwa, a Brahmaputra-class frigate of the Indian Navy. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh was present at the signing in New Delhi.
The work has two parts. The ship's existing steam-based propulsion will be replaced with a diesel-engine-based system, and its combat capability will be upgraded with a modernised weapon suite. The ministry's announcement did not give a completion date or a refit duration.
Industry link
The ministry said the project is expected to involve more than 50 micro, small and medium enterprises and to create jobs across shipbuilding and allied industries, and it tied the contract to its Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives.
Wider context
The contract follows a much larger order placed on 2 November, when the ministry signed contracts worth Rs 53,866.50 crore with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers and Goa Shipyard for eight next-generation corvettes for the Navy, five from the first yard and three from the second. Reports described it as the first warship acquisition in which the Navy designed the ships indigenously and awarded them to defence public sector yards through a competitive process.
The reports on the Betwa contract were limited to the ministry's account, and the cost and scope are as stated by the ministry.
