NEW DELHI: Formation of a cost negotiation committee is under way to speed up the Indian Navy’s Project 75 (India) project under which submarines will be built in alignment with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
The CNC to be firmed up soon will include officials from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Navy and Defence Finance in addition to representatives of Mazagon Dockyard Limited (MDL) that will lead the project under strategic partnership (SP) with Germany’s TKMS (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems), said sources.
“Once the project is firmed up, MDL and Germany must adhere to the objectives of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. TKMS will need to meet 100% of the commercial and technical requirements, including transfer of technology and Indian content,” an MoD source said.
“This area will be closely scrutinised to ensure that actual design knowledge is transferred to India after the delivery of the first submarine, allowing India to freely use this technology as needed,” the source added.
“A contract will be signed between the MoD and MDL. Further, there will be a contract between MDL and TKMS. Work share and responsibilities will be finalised under the contracts,” another source said.
“Firstly the design will be confirmed and then it will be work converted into a functional system. The transfer of technology from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) should be such that the next class of submarines should be totally Indian, from scratch to operational system,” the source said.
“Historically Germans are not known for sharing such extensive knowledge in defence programmes, so the successful implementation of the SP model is will be seen as significant,” the source added.
Another concern voiced by the sources emanates from the past experience of the cost and time overrun in construction of the Scorpene Class submarines. In the case of Scorpene (P75), the Naval Group of France was involved with the MDL.
The delay in P75 was substantial as the contract for six Scorpene submarines (Kalvari-class) worth Rs 18,706 crore was signed in 2005. While the cost escalated to about Rs 23,000 crore, the first of the Scorpene submarines built at MDL was inducted in 2017 instead of 2012. While the envisioned plan for the project inked in 2005 was to induct all six by 2017, the last one, INS Vagsheer, was inducted in January this year.
Earlier in 1994, India manufactured two German submarines but the gap of 11 years led to loss of this specialised skill. Things are already delayed for the Expression of Interest for six advanced AIP integrated submarines was issued in 2019. From the date of the contract signed it would take 7-8 years for the first submarine to get inducted.
The Project 75 Scorpene class, with the French Naval Group, faced huge time and cost overrun. The Project 75I is already delayed and if the project gets confirmed this year the first submarine of its class will be inducted by 2032.
As reported earlier, the Rs 45,000 crore project aims at constructing six advanced submarines under Project 75I, which aims to boost to ‘Make in India’ programme.
Cost and time overrun in construction
Another concern voiced by the sources emanates from the past experience of the cost and time overrun in construction of the Scorpene Class submarines. In the case of Scorpene (P75), the Naval Group of France was involved with the MDL. The delay in P75 was substantial as the contract for six Scorpene submarines (Kalvari-class) worth `18,706 crore was signed in 2005. While the cost escalated to about `23,000 crore, the first of the Scorpene submarines built at MDL was inducted in 2017 instead of 2012. While the envisioned plan for the project inked in 2005 was to induct all six by 2017, the last one, INS Vagsheer, was inducted in January this year.