Ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's February 25-26 visit to New Delhi, Germany is considering a $5.2 billion deal with India to jointly build six conventional submarines in the country, Reuters reported.

If the deal materialises, it will be a victory for Berlin to wean New Delhi away from its high dependence on Russia for military hardware. Currently, New Delhi has 16 conventional submarines and most of them are over 25 years old.

India has been working on bolstering its maritime capability with a focus on the Indian Ocean amid concerns over China’s growing forays into the region, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy.

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Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is one of two international bidders for the submarine project, which will be discussed between the two countries during Scholz’s trip, Reuters said.

Also, Russia's Rosoboronexport and Spain's Navantia Group have backed out of the project. That leaves German TKMS, which just signed a contract for jointly building six submarines with Norway, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd of South Korea in contention.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government wants India to manufacture more weapons at home in collaboration with foreign partners after decades of being one of the world's largest arms importers.

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(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:Feb 24, 2023 5:05 PM IST