The shift from 'Buy Global' to 'Buy (Indian-IDDM)' in naval procurement has strengthened Aatmanirbharta but exposed capacity constraints in Indian shipyards. Examine with reference to recent naval shipbuilding programmes.

Buy (Indian-IDDM) means Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured. It is the top-priority category for defence procurement. In March 2023 the Navy contracted 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs) under this category [1]. The programme shows what the shift has achieved and where it falls short.

How Aatmanirbharta has been strengthened

• Indian design, not just assembly: Goa Shipyard (GSL) will design and build 7 of the 11 NGOPVs and GRSE will build 4, for a total of ₹9,781 crore [1].
• Domestic value chain: Most equipment comes from Indian makers. A second order for six missile vessels from Cochin Shipyard was signed the same day, and the two orders together are worth about ₹19,600 crore [1].
• Building on both coasts: Under the lead–follow model, GSL (Goa) leads and GRSE (Kolkata) follows [4]. GRSE launched its fourth and last hull, Shreyas, in October 2026 [2].
• Private-yard role: GSL has some hull blocks built at YMSPL, a private yard in Ratnagiri [5].

What capacity constraints it has exposed

• Delivery at risk: Deliveries were due to start in September 2026 [1]. Official releases up to October 2026 report launches, not deliveries [2]. A launched hull still needs fitting-out and sea trials.
• Slow start: The first keel was laid in May 2024, more than a year after the contract [3].
• Old bottlenecks remain: CAG Report No. 32 of 2010 traced warship delays to late drawings, steel shortages and weak infrastructure at public-sector shipyards [6]. Foreign yards are now out of the picture, so these weaknesses directly set the timeline.
• One design, two yards: GSL holds the design, so a delay at GSL holds up GRSE as well [4].
• Private-yard risk: ONGC ordered 12 vessels from Pipavav, due by December 2011. Only 7 had arrived by March 2018, and the contract was ended in July 2018 [7].
• Competing orders: The Coast Guard's own NGOPVs, being built at Mazagon Dock [8], need the same steel, equipment and skilled workers.

Way forward

• Freeze the design before hull work speeds up.
• Publish planned and actual delivery dates, not just launch dates.
• Pay subcontractors only as each stage is checked.
• Plan Navy and Coast Guard orders together.

Recent programmes show that IDDM has given India the ability to design its own warships. Shipyard capacity now has to keep pace. A fixed design, open delivery tracking and closely supervised private yards would let Aatmanirbharta deliver ships on time, in line with India's SAGAR goal of a secure Indian Ocean.