Guide 01 Selling to Indian defence
How to register as a vendor with the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy has no single central vendor list. Each naval dockyard publishes its own vendor registration guidelines, tenders run through the MoD e-procurement portal and GeM, and the Directorate of Quality Assurance (Naval) inspects what is supplied rather than registering suppliers. A new vendor typically starts with the dockyard nearest its factory.
- Topic
- Selling to Indian defence
- Checked
- 23 September 2026
- Sources
- 4
- Questions
- 6
01
No single Navy vendor list
The Indian Navy does not run one central portal where a company registers once and becomes an approved supplier everywhere. Its "Information for Vendors" pages route firms to individual procurement units and establishments, and naval dockyards publish their own vendor registration guidelines and categories, matching a firm's core competence to the work it wants to bid for.
A new supplier typically first identifies which naval dockyard, formation or quality assurance establishment actually buys or inspects the item it makes, then applies to that specific office rather than to the Navy as a single body. Tenders themselves are then run through the Ministry of Defence e-procurement portal, GeM or the Central Public Procurement Portal, not through the dockyard's own registration form.
- Identify which dockyard, formation or quality assurance establishment actually buys or inspects your item
- Apply to that office's own vendor registration route
- Track tenders separately on defproc.gov.in, GeM and the Central Public Procurement Portal
- Use SRIJAN for indigenisation opportunities rather than routine tenders
02
What Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam asks for
Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam publishes written vendor registration guidelines on the Indian Navy website. Applicants submit company details, ownership structure, financial information and compliance documents, and are then assessed before being registered in categories that match their core competencies, such as electrical repair, fabrication or machining.
The published guidelines do not state a registration fee or a validity period. Confirm both, along with the current document checklist, directly with the dockyard before applying. Firms based in Visakhapatnam, including marine engineering and ship repair contractors, are the guidelines' most direct audience.
03
DQA(N) inspects; it does not register vendors
The Directorate of Quality Assurance (Naval), DQA(N), is a technical directorate of the Directorate General of Quality Assurance under the Ministry of Defence. Its stated functions are to approve drawings for machinery and spares on order, approve each supplier's Quality Assurance Plan, carry out inspection and Factory Acceptance Trials against that approved plan, and accept imported machinery, equipment and stores.
None of that is vendor registration. A firm still has to be registered with the buying dockyard, shipyard or Service procurement agency; DQA(N) then becomes the authority that inspects what that firm actually supplies, item by item, once a contract exists. The same charter covers the Coast Guard and defence shipyards, not the Navy alone.
04
Getting onto Navy and defence e-procurement
Most Navy tenders appear on the Defence e-Procurement portal (defproc.gov.in), the Central Public Procurement Portal (eprocure.gov.in) and GeM, alongside any tender the specific dockyard or establishment issues directly. Bidding on the government e-procurement portals needs a Class III digital signature certificate, with both a signing and an encryption component, registered in the authorised signatory's name well before a bid closes.
Indigenisation opportunities, where the Navy wants an existing imported item made in India, are handled separately through the SRIJAN portal (srijandefence.gov.in). By June 2026 the Ministry of Defence reported more than 33,000 items listed there across all Services and defence PSUs; firms respond to the linked Expressions of Interest or RFPs rather than through a dockyard's vendor form.
Asked next
Questions people also ask
How to register as a vendor with the Indian Navy
Is there one central portal to register as an Indian Navy vendor?
No. The Navy's "Information for Vendors" pages route firms to separate procurement units and quality assurance establishments, and naval dockyards such as Visakhapatnam publish their own registration guidelines. Tenders themselves are published on the Defence e-Procurement portal, GeM and the Central Public Procurement Portal, which are bidding platforms rather than a single vendor registry.
What does Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam ask a new vendor to submit?
Its published guidelines ask for company, ownership, financial and compliance details with supporting documents. Applicants are assessed and then registered in categories matching their core competencies. The guidelines do not publish a fee or a validity period, so confirm both, and the current document checklist, directly with the dockyard before applying.
Does DQA(N) register Navy vendors?
No. DQA(N), the Directorate of Quality Assurance (Naval), approves drawings and Quality Assurance Plans, runs inspection and Factory Acceptance Trials, and accepts stores once a contract exists. Vendor registration happens separately, with the dockyard, shipyard or Service procurement agency that buys the item; DQA(N) then inspects what is actually supplied.
What digital signature certificate do I need to bid on Navy e-procurement tenders?
A Class III digital signature certificate, covering both signing and encryption, is required to bid on the government's NIC-run e-procurement portals, including the Central Public Procurement Portal and the Defence e-Procurement portal. Buy it from a licensed certifying authority in the name of the person authorised to sign bids, and register it well before any deadline.
What is the SRIJAN portal and does the Navy use it?
SRIJAN (srijandefence.gov.in) is the Ministry of Defence's portal for indigenisation. Service headquarters, including the Navy, and defence PSUs list items they want made in India, and by June 2026 more than 33,000 items had been offered there. Firms respond to the Expressions of Interest or RFPs linked from the portal rather than a routine tender notice.
Does DQA(N) also cover the Coast Guard?
Yes. DQA(N)'s charter covers electrical, electronics and weapon equipment and naval stores procured by the Navy, the Coast Guard and defence shipyards, not the Navy alone. The sixth Positive Indigenisation List, notified on 18 August 2026, separately included 16 Indian Coast Guard items among the items offered for indigenisation.
Checked against
Sources
- 01Vendor registration guidelines, Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy
- 02DQA(N): Directorate of Quality Assurance (Naval), Directorate General of Quality Assurance, Ministry of Defence
- 03CPPP guidelines for bidders, National Informatics Centre, eprocure.gov.in
- 04Sixth Positive Indigenisation List and SRIJAN update, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence
This guide explains how the system works in general, as the documents above describe it, and was last checked on 23 September 2026. Rules and thresholds change: the governing document is the authority, not this page.
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