The entry of private shipyards into warship construction marks a structural shift in India's defence industrial base. Discuss with recent examples.

On 16 October 2026 the Navy commissioned INS Samarthak. It is the first major warship designed and built by an Indian private shipyard, L&T, and has over 75% indigenous content [1]. The shift has begun, but the public-sector yards still build most of India's warships.

Signs of a structural shift

• Full design and build by a private yard: in 2022 the Ministry of Defence contracted L&T for two Multi-Purpose Vessels [2]. L&T held both the design and the contract, not just a sub-contracted share.
• Public–private partnering: Hindustan Shipyard (HSL) has sub-contracted part of the construction of two Fleet Support Ships to L&T Kattupalli [3]. This uses spare private capacity.
• Faster building: L&T's modular construction and pre-outfitting (building in blocks and fitting pipes and cables before joining them) shortened build timelines [1].
• Wider industrial base: PIB credits the project with jobs, capability development and "plough back" into the economy, with makers of Indian-built equipment involved [1].
• Testbed for indigenisation: Samarthak is a trial platform for sensors and weapons developed by Indian industry [1].

Why it matters

• Navy purchases such as the Project-75 submarines have faced major delays [5]. A second, competing source of supply reduces dependence on a few overloaded yards.
• It strengthens Aatmanirbhar Bharat and cooperation between the Navy and industry [1].

Limits: the shift is still at an early stage

• Scale: 51 large ships worth about ₹90,000 crore are under construction, mainly at defence PSUs (Mazagon Dock, GRSE, Cochin Shipyard) [4]. Two MPVs are a small share of this.
• Complexity: Samarthak is a 15-knot support ship [2], not a frigate or destroyer.
• Uncertain demand: the Standing Committee on Defence found that vendors hesitate to indigenise because use in shipbuilding projects is not assured and orders are small [6].
• Unclear metric: the "75% indigenous" figure does not say how it is calculated [1]. Engines and weapons may still be imported.

Samarthak and the shared Fleet Support Ship work show private yards moving from sub-contractors to builders of whole ships. The shift will become structural only when steady orders follow. The way forward is to open frontline warship tenders to private yards and to tie successful sea trials to orders across a whole class of ships and to the Positive Indigenisation Lists. A strong mix of public and private yards will advance Aatmanirbhar Bharat and India's role as a security provider in the Indian Ocean.