India will export its first defence equipment, a warship to Mauritius, in December.

The off-shore patrol vehicle developed by the State-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), is currently undergoing sea trials.

The warship, christened CGS Barracuda, will be handed over to the Mauritius coast guard, and is expected to cost $50 million (or Rs 300 crore under current exchange rates).

According to AK Verma, Chairman and Managing Director, GRSE, the defence public sector utility is also looking at exploring the export scenario. Preliminary discussions have begun with several countries in Africa, the Far East and Latin America.

“Our first export order, a warship, will be delivered to Mauritius by December this year. We are also looking to tap the export segment in the coming days. Preliminary discussions have begun with some countries,” he said. Verma was speaking on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-organised seminar on Defence-Industry Linkage.

Kolkata-based GRSE is a mini-ratna PSU functioning under the Ministry of Defence. It reported a turnover of Rs 1,600 crore for FY-14 and is looking at a “little increase” in revenues this year.

Order - book size

Meanwhile, the company has received 16 orders amounting to Rs 10,000 crore from the Navy. The orders are expected to be completed over the next few years.

According to Verma, the order-book includes four anti-submarine warfare ships, eight landing craft utility ships, and four first-attack crafts.

Of these, one anti-submarine warfare ship was delivered to the Navy earlier this year, while the second one is expected around June–August in 2015. The ships have as high as 90 per cent indigenisation, he said.

Deliveries of the landing craft utility ships and first-attack crafts are expected to begin from the “middle of next year”.

“We are hopeful of an increase in orders from the Centre in the coming days,” Verma said.

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