INS Betwa Refit Contract Worth Rs 498.58 Crore Goes to CSL

The Ministry of Defence has ordered a deep overhaul of the warship INS Betwa, placing work valued at Rs 498.58 crore with Cochin Shipyard Limited. The papers were exchanged in New Delhi on 11 November 2026, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh present at the signing. The Ministry put the size of the order at roughly Rs 500 crore.

A refit that changes the ship's engines

INS Betwa sails with the Indian Navy's Brahmaputra class of frigates. What sets this job apart from a routine spell in dock is the second word in its title, re-powering. The frigate presently moves on a steam-based propulsion plant, and that plant is to be lifted out and a diesel-engine arrangement put in its place. Changing the very type of machinery that drives a fighting ship, instead of repairing what already sits in her hull, ranks among the most demanding pieces of work a repair yard can take on.

Her fighting equipment will not be left untouched either. A modernised weapon suite is to be fitted during the same period alongside the machinery work, and the Ministry expects the frigate's operational effectiveness to stand higher once she rejoins the fleet.

Work for the yard and for small units

Deep repair and modernisation of naval platforms has long been an area where Indian industry wanted a firmer footing, and the Ministry treats this order as a way of rooting those skills at home rather than seeking them abroad. More than 50 MSMEs are expected to find a share of the work, with employment spread across shipbuilding and the ancillary trades that supply it. The Ministry placed the contract squarely within its push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, both of which rest on domestic yards being able to keep the Navy's ships fit and fighting.