French company Naval Group on Tuesday said it is unable to participate in India's P-75I project, under which six conventional submarines are to be domestically built for the Indian Navy, due to conditions mentioned in the request for proposal (RFP) related to air independent propulsion (AIP) system.
Naval Group's announcement comes a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris where he is scheduled meet recently re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron. AIP system allows a conventional submarine to stay submerged in water at higher speeds for a longer period of time.
In June last year, the Defence Ministry had cleared the P-75I project and subsequently, RFPs were issued to two shortlisted Indian companies – private company Larsen and Toubro and State-run Mazagaon Docks Limited.
