Russian Icebreaker Viktor Chernomyrdin, the largest diesel-electric icebreaker ever built by a Russian shipyard
Russia has chosen India over China for its non-nuclear icebreaker construction program. This decision comes as Russia seeks to develop its Northern Sea Route (NSR) and navigate the challenges posed by Western sanctions…In a significant move towards strengthening maritime cooperation, the Indian government is in talks with two shipbuilders—one state-owned and the other private—to construct four non-nuclear icebreaker ships valued at over Rs 6,000 crores ($750 million).
Does this really signify a preference for India over China? Not really, “…shipyards in China, South Korea, and Japan are fully booked until at least 2028.” India is probably eager for the business. Relations between Russia and India have been good for decades. While India has moved closer to the US in response to Chinese aggressiveness, India has maintained ties with Russia.
India has been developing their ship building industry, and logically they have the cheap labor that could make them very competitive, but they still lag far behind China, S. Korea, and Japan. That Russia is not building these ships in Russia is an indication of the weakness of their own shipbuilding industry.
I don’t think India has ever built an icebreaker. There is no indication of how large or powerful these icebreakers would be other than the price, four for $750M. (That is four icebreakers for about half the price of a Polar Security Cutter.) If this happens, it will be worth watching.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
The EurAsian Times actually cites another Indian source, ET Infra, which in turn cited “an official with knowledge of the matter” who asked not to be named and a “shipbuilding industry executive with knowledge of [Rosatom’s] visit [to Indian shipyards]”:
https://infra.economictimes.indiatimes.com/amp/news/ports-shipping/russia-eyes-indian-yards-to-build-four-non-nuclear-icebreaker-ships-to-back-its-northern-sea-route-plan/114123309
Given that the article described icebrebreakers as ships that are “used to breka ice which makes it easier to melt, becoming water that absorbs more sunlight”, I’m not sure if they got the other details right either. After all, it’s a long way from what sounds more like a request for information (RFI) or site visit to assess the facilities to awarding a firm shipbuilding contract.
Since Indian shipyards have never built icebreaking ships before, a project like this would necessitate an extensive technology transfer from the Russian shipbuilding industry. This is further reinforced by the remark that the Indian shipyards are reportedly concerned about the type of steel used in the hull of the icebreakers as well as the supply of engines. While Russian steel mills can likely address the first issue, there are no Russian or Chinese engine manufacturers with products that would be the good fit for a 40-megawatt non-nuclear-powered icebreaker. Ideally you’d be looking splitting the roughly 50-megawatt diesel power plant between 4 and 6 large diesel generators.
Another thing that puzzles me is that when the project was previously discussed in June, a Russian official said that the only potential bidder could be Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, the new Russian shipyard located near Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. They reportedly had a scale model of their non-nuclear line icebreaker concept at their booth in a conference in Saint Petersburg just last week. The Russian oil giant Rosneft has a stake in both the shipyard as well as Russia’s premier icebreaker designer, Central Design Bureau “Iceberg”, who also developed the Project 24500 design they have been displaying since last year. Furthermore, ET Infra claimed that the Russians are using more commercially more lucrative oil tankers as a “carrot” to get the Indian shipyards to build the less profitable icebreakers. Given that oil tankers are one of Zvezda’s main products and the only ship type they have managed to deliver in recent years (albeit with help from Hyundai), I doubt Rosneft is overly excited about “helping” Indian shipyards to compete with them. Of course, since it’s Russia, they might not have a say on the issue. Or perhaps Rosatom is using the India card to get a better offer from the Russian shipyard?
I admit I don’t have recent knowledge of the price level in the Indian market, but I have a rough idea what such icebreakers would cost if built elsewhere. That $750 million is not realistic unless there are heavy government subsidies.
In any case, I will treat these Indian-built icebreakers as “vaporware” until I get some kind of confirmation from Russian sources.
“Vaporware” icebreakers would be “frostware.” I’d call them “frostbreakers” instead of icebreakers, LOL, especially because as you pointed out, the original article misunderstands how icebreakers work: “An icebreaker ship is used to break ice which makes it easier to melt, becoming water that absorbs more sunlight.” They think icebreakers melt the ice, maybe paint the ice black so it will melt?