Larsen and Toubro (L&T) faced a setback after its bid for building six submarines was deemed non-compliant by the Defence Ministry
New Delhi: After the Larsen and Toubro CEO’s controversial 90-hour workweek remark, the company faced a setback. The engineering behemoth Larsen and Toubro (L&T) was denied a Rs 70,000 crore tender as the Defence Ministry has deemed the company’s bid for the tender of six submarines non-compliant. India’s 12th most-valued enterprise’s setback followed SN Subrahmanyan’s remark where he said that employees should clock in on Sundays as well and work 90 hours every week, exceeding way beyond the existing 48-hour workweek.
L&T in partnership with the Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company Navantia had filed a proposal to build and deliver the Indian Navy with six advanced submarines. According to a report by ANI citing defence sources, these submarines have the advanced ability to stay underwater for three weeks under Project 75 India.
Why Was The Submarine Tender Cancelled?
Due to the project’s non-compliance with the Indian Navy’s requirement of a sea-proven system in its tender document specifications, the Rs 70,000 crore tender for this project was denied to L&T.
L&T and its partner demonstrated the operation of their essential Air Independent Propulsion system in Spain to the Indian Navy team present on land, citing ANI.
Following the tender cancellation, the only company left for the construction of six submarines is the state-owned Mazagaon Dockyards. Mazagaon Dockyards Limited, along with its partner ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems from Germany, would be the sole remaining contender in the competition. The state-owned firm has successfully undertaken the construction of multiple wartime vessels. These include the final unit of the six Project 75 Scorpene class submarines, INS Vagsheer, to the Indian Navy, and is set to receive orders for three additional submarines under Project 75 (Additional Submarine) to be constructed with support from the French Naval Group.
Recommendations have been proposed to the relevant officials to evenly distribute the project among the shipyards. Recently, the Central government has approved multiple submarine initiatives that include both nuclear and conventional types, in order to keep up with the swift naval modernisation efforts by India’s competitors, China and Pakistan.