On 22 July 2026, the Indian Navy commissioned INS Malvan at Karwar — the second of the indigenously designed and built Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). Named after the historic Maharashtra coastal town of Malvan (tied to the maritime legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj), it strengthens India's ability to hunt submarines in shallow coastal waters. For an NDA aspirant, this is a strong defence topic covering anti-submarine warfare, warship types and indigenous shipbuilding — reliably examined and useful for the SSB.
The news in one frame
The essentials:
- What: commissioning of INS Malvan, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC).
- Class: the second ship of the indigenous Mahe-class.
- Builder: Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) — a Make in India warship.
- Role: detecting and destroying submarines in shallow, coastal (littoral) waters.
What is anti-submarine warfare?
Start with the concept. Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) is the branch of naval warfare focused on detecting, tracking and destroying enemy submarines. Submarines are dangerous precisely because they are hidden underwater and hard to find. ASW platforms use:
- Sonar (Sound Navigation and Ranging) — the key tool: it sends sound waves through water and listens for echoes off a submarine (sound travels far in water, unlike radar waves).
- Torpedoes, depth charges and ASW rockets to attack a detected submarine.
- Helicopters, aircraft and other ships working together.
The Mahe-class ASW-SWC is designed for shallow, coastal waters (the "littoral"), where larger ships struggle — plugging a gap in India's coastal defence. This defence knowledge is exactly what the NDA general-knowledge notes cover.
Warship types — a quick guide
NDA questions like the hierarchy of warships — know the main types by size and role:
- Aircraft Carrier — the largest; a floating airbase (e.g., INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant).
- Destroyer — large, powerful, multi-role (e.g., the Visakhapatnam/Kolkata class).
- Frigate — slightly smaller, versatile escort (e.g., the Nilgiri/Shivalik class).
- Corvette — small, agile, often for ASW or anti-surface roles.
- Shallow Water Craft / patrol vessels — small ships for coastal ASW and patrol (like INS Malvan).
- Submarines — underwater vessels: conventional (diesel-electric) like the Kalvari class, and nuclear like INS Arihant.
Knowing carrier > destroyer > frigate > corvette > craft (roughly by size/capability) is a handy exam anchor. These themes recur in the NDA daily current affairs.
Indigenous shipbuilding — Make in India
Place the self-reliance angle — examinable in itself:
- INS Malvan is indigenously designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, reflecting the Navy's drive to be a "builder's navy."
- India's warship-building yards include Cochin Shipyard (CSL), Mazagon Dock (MDL), Garden Reach (GRSE) and Hindustan Shipyard.
- A high share of the Navy's new ships are made in India, using indigenous warship-grade steel (DMR-249) — advancing Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence.
- Ships are named by tradition — often after coastal towns, rivers, or historic places (Malvan honours Shivaji's naval heritage).
The revision hook: INS Malvan = 2nd Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), built by Cochin Shipyard, commissioned at Karwar; ASW = hunting submarines using sonar + torpedoes/depth charges; warship order carrier > destroyer > frigate > corvette > craft; indigenous (Make in India) shipbuilding.
The Indian Navy's role
Round out with the bigger maritime-security picture the exam pairs with this:
- The Navy secures India's ~7,500 km coastline, its island territories, and vital sea lanes in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- It operates in three commands — Western (Mumbai), Eastern (Visakhapatnam), and Southern (Kochi, training).
- It is a "net security provider" in the IOR — anti-piracy, HADR (disaster relief), and maritime diplomacy — aligned with Vision SAGAR/MAHASAGAR.
- Coastal security (post-26/11) involves the Navy, Coast Guard and marine police in a three-tier grid.
India's submarine and carrier fleet
A little more depth the exam rewards — the platforms ASW ships work with and against:
- Aircraft carriers: INS Vikramaditya (bought from Russia, ex-Admiral Gorshkov) and INS Vikrant (India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, commissioned 2022).
- Conventional submarines: the Kalvari class (Scorpene, built at Mazagon Dock under Project-75), plus older Sindhughosh/Shishumar classes.
- Nuclear submarines: INS Arihant (India's first indigenous SSBN, nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile), giving India the sea leg of its nuclear triad.
- The nuclear triad — the ability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea — is completed by submarines like Arihant.
Knowing that Vikrant is indigenous, that Arihant completes the nuclear triad, and that ASW craft like Malvan hunt the submarines these fleets field, ties the naval picture together for the SSB and GK alike.
Why it matters
For the SSB and the bigger picture:
- Coastal defence: dedicated shallow-water ASW craft close a real gap against quiet coastal submarines.
- Self-reliance: every indigenously built warship strengthens defence Aatmanirbharta.
- Maritime power: a strong Navy underpins India's role in a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific.
Exam relevance in one paragraph
For NDA General Awareness, retain: INS Malvan is the second Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), indigenously built by Cochin Shipyard Limited and commissioned at Karwar; anti-submarine warfare (ASW) detects and destroys submarines using sonar (which uses sound waves underwater) plus torpedoes and depth charges; warship types by size/role run aircraft carrier > destroyer > frigate > corvette > shallow-water craft, with submarines being conventional (Kalvari class) or nuclear (INS Arihant); India's warship yards include Cochin Shipyard, Mazagon Dock and GRSE; the Navy has Western, Eastern and Southern Commands and acts as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean. For the SSB, it exemplifies indigenous naval strength and coastal security.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. INS Malvan is a type of: (a) Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (b) aircraft carrier (c) submarine (d) fighter jet → (a) — an ASW Shallow Water Craft.
Q2. Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) is aimed at: (a) detecting and destroying submarines (b) shooting down aircraft (c) building ports (d) mine clearance only → (a) — countering enemy submarines.
Q3. The key tool to detect submarines underwater is: (a) sonar (b) radar (c) GPS (d) telescope → (a) — sonar (uses sound waves).
Q4. Sonar works using: (a) sound waves (b) radio waves (c) light waves (d) X-rays → (a) — sound waves (which travel well in water).
Q5. INS Malvan was built by: (a) Cochin Shipyard Limited (b) HAL (c) DRDO (d) ISRO → (a) — Cochin Shipyard Limited.
Q6. INS Malvan belongs to which class? (a) Mahe-class (b) Kalvari-class (c) Nilgiri-class (d) Vikrant-class → (a) — the Mahe-class.
Q7. The largest type of warship is the: (a) aircraft carrier (b) corvette (c) frigate (d) patrol craft → (a) — the aircraft carrier.
Q8. A weapon used to attack a detected submarine is a: (a) torpedo / depth charge (b) tank shell (c) surface-to-air missile only (d) landmine → (a) — torpedoes and depth charges.
Q9. India's first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine is: (a) INS Arihant (b) INS Vikrant (c) INS Malvan (d) INS Sindhughosh → (a) — INS Arihant.
Q10. INS Malvan is named after a coastal town in: (a) Maharashtra (b) Kerala (c) Gujarat (d) Odisha → (a) — Maharashtra (linked to Shivaji's maritime heritage).
Q11. "Shallow water" (littoral) craft are designed for: (a) coastal waters (b) deep oceans only (c) rivers only (d) space → (a) — coastal/shallow waters.
Q12. Which is a warship-building yard in India? (a) Mazagon Dock (MDL) (b) BHEL (c) SAIL (d) NTPC → (a) — Mazagon Dock Limited.
Q13. The indigenous warship-grade steel used in Indian ships is: (a) DMR-249 (b) stainless steel only (c) mild steel (d) aluminium → (a) — DMR-249.
Q14. The Southern Naval Command, focused on training, is headquartered at: (a) Kochi (b) Mumbai (c) Visakhapatnam (d) Chennai → (a) — Kochi.
Q15. In warship size/capability, which is smaller than a frigate? (a) corvette (b) destroyer (c) aircraft carrier (d) cruiser → (a) — a corvette.
Q16. India's first indigenous aircraft carrier is: (a) INS Vikrant (b) INS Vikramaditya (c) INS Arihant (d) INS Malvan → (a) — INS Vikrant (commissioned 2022).
Q17. The sea leg of India's nuclear triad is provided by: (a) INS Arihant (nuclear submarine) (b) INS Vikrant (c) the Rafale (d) the Agni missile alone → (a) — INS Arihant (SSBN).
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
The Navy is a reliable NDA defence set. The reliable framings are ASW and sonar, warship types (carrier/destroyer/frigate/corvette/craft), ship-to-builder/class matching, and indigenous shipbuilding yards. A common trap says submarines are detected by radar (it's sonar) or confuses ship classes. The fresh 2026 hook is INS Malvan (Mahe-class ASW-SWC) — ideal for "which type / which builder / which tool" items. We reference the pattern, not any exact past question.
Preparing for the NDA? The Navy, warships and ASW are high-yield defence GK and strong SSB talking points on maritime security and self-reliance. Follow our daily NDA current affairs and train with serving-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Maj Sunil Chopra — Co-founder & defence faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB / Indian Navy, Ministry of Defence, 22 July 2026. Facts cross-verified with independent sources.