Indigenous warship building has moved from 'buyer's navy' to 'builder's navy'. Critically evaluate with reference to recent commissionings and persisting bottlenecks.

A "buyer's navy" imports its platforms, while a "builder's navy" designs, builds and maintains them at home. The induction of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) during 2025–26 shows real progress toward the second. Delays, opaque indigenisation and weak maintenance show that the change is not yet complete.

Evidence of a builder's navy

• Programme scale: The 16-ship ASW-SWC order is shared equally between GRSE and Cochin Shipyard. These ships replace the ageing Abhay-class corvettes [2].
• Steady commissionings: INS Arnala became the first ASW-SWC in June 2025 [3]. INS Mangrol, the third Mahe-class craft, was commissioned at Mumbai on 12 Oct 2026 [1].
• Indigenous content: Mangrol has over 80% indigenous content. CSL handled everything from design to systems integration, with MSMEs as suppliers [1].
• Wider industrial base: Under a public-private partnership, GRSE launched Arnala at L&T Kattupalli [4].
• Littoral capability: Waterjet-driven, shallow-draught hulls strengthen coastal ASW and LIMO (low-intensity maritime operations) [1].

Persisting bottlenecks

• Time overruns: The 2019 contract required the first ship within 42 months [2], but Arnala was commissioned only in mid-2025 [3]. This matches an old pattern. CAG Report 32/2010 found lead ships 4–5 years late because of late drawings, steel shortages and weak DPSU yard infrastructure [6].
• Design immaturity: CAG Report 19/2017 found that ASW corvette construction began before the design was frozen. Some ships were delivered without their full weapon and sensor fit [7].
• Headline indigenisation: "80%" measures quantity, not criticality. Public releases do not say whether sonar, weapons or engines are imported [1].
• Maintenance: CAG found only 28 of 152 refits began on schedule [8]. Two separate designs for one requirement also double the spares and training load.

On balance, India has clearly become a builder of hulls and is moving toward a full builder's navy. To finish the shift, it needs to freeze designs before construction begins and develop more than one domestic source for critical systems. It must also expand refit capacity alongside new construction. Together these steps would make Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence a lasting capability that supports India's role as a security provider in the Indian Ocean.