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The Defence Ministry has found the Indian firm Larsen and Toubro (L&T) bid non-compliant in the Rs 70,000 crore tender to acquire six submarines.
The Indian Navy is looking to buy six advanced submarines with the ability to stay underwater for three weeks under Project 75 India. The proposal of the L&T in partnership with Spanish Navantia has been rejected by the Ministry for not being compliant with Indian Navy requirements, defence sources told ANI. The L&T and its partner had showcased the functioning of its critical Air Independent Propulsion system in Spain to the Indian Navy team there on shore but the Indian Navy demanded a sea-proven system in its requirements in the tender document. The latest development means that the state-owned Mazagaon Dockyards Limited along with its partner ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany would be the only vendor left in the race for making the six submarines. Vendors involved in the programme have been making representations to the government and the Defence Ministry has been moving ahead as per procedures in the project and have vetted the process at all levels. There have also been suggestions made to the officials concerned to equally divide the project between the shipyards. The Mazagaon Dockyards recently supplied the last of the six Project 75 Scorpene class submarine INS Vagsheer to the Indian Navy but is going to get orders for three more submarines under Project 75 (Additional Submarine) to be built with French Naval Group support. Against the backdrop of the fast modernisation of the Chinese Navy, the Indian government has also cleared many submarine projects including both nuclear and conventional ones but India has to do a lot of catching up at a fast pace to develop the desired capabilities to tackle both China and Pakistan in its area of interest. Larsen and Toubro have been deeply involved in the strategic submarine projects for the Indian Navy and have facilities on both the seaboards to mainly support defence forces' projects. (ANI)
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