New Delhi

Indiaand Germany are expected to sign a deal for next-generation submarines "very soon", German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said on Thursday. India and Germany are reportedly finalising an estimated 8 billion euros (over Rs 90,000 crore) Project-75I submarine agreement for six next-generation conventional submarines to be built in India for the country's navy.

Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and India's state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders are expected to ink the agreement.

"Submarine deal, I'm very hopeful and confident that it will be signed very soon, in the next month, maybe," Ackermann told reporters here. He was speaking on the sidelines of an industry event organised by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC).