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| India looks at sealing two mega submarine deals after long wait | | | NEW DELHI, Aug 31: India is likely to seal two mega submarine deals worth over Rs one lakh crore by the middle of next year to crank up its undersea warfare capabilities against the backdrop of China's increasing naval prowess, authoritative sources said on Sunday. The first project that is being negotiated is for the procurement of three Scorpene submarines, which will be jointly constructed by state-run Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and French defence major Naval Group. Though the defence ministry cleared the nearly Rs 36,000 crore deal over two years back, there have been delays in negotiations to firm up various technical and commercial aspects of the project, the sources said. The second project that the defence ministry is eyeing to seal is for the acquisition of six diesel-electric stealth submarines at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore. The procurement was initially cleared by the ministry in 2021.
"We are expecting both contracts will be firmed up by the middle of next year," a source said.
Leading German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has partnered with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd for the project, billed as one of the biggest 'Make in India' initiatives in recent years.
The sources said the cost negotiations for the deal will start soon and the entire process may take six to nine months before a contract is concluded.
While the proposed acquisition of six stealth submarines under Project 75 India (P75-I) is a completely new programme, the plan for the three Scorpene submarines will be a follow-on order of a previous acquisition.
Under the Indian Navy's Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in collaboration with the Naval Group.
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