New Delhi: "Indian Navy (IN) has spent more than two-thirds of the Modernisation Budget in the last five years towards indigenous procurement and out of 41 ships and submarines ordered by the Navy, 39 are from Indian shipyards, which is a testament to the Navy's commitment to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat", said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Speaking at the 4-day Naval Commanders' Conference that concluded on October 21 Singh stressed the need to have a strong Navy due to our increasing dependence on the seas for national development, and for proactive engagement with the world.
Rajnath Singh commended the Navy to have lived up to the expectation of the Nation by establishing a visible, credible and responsive presence in the IOR. Defence Minister complimented the Navy for providing medical aid to South-West Indian Ocean Region countries, as part of Mission SAGAR which is in line with PM Modi's clarion call for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), undertaking various HADR Operations in the wake of natural calamities, and providing succour to the civil populace during the second wave of COVID-19.
Singh emphasized that the P75(I) project would be one of the largest 'Make in India' projects and complimented IN on the successful maiden Sea Trials of the indigenously designed and built Aircraft Carrier 'Vikrant' by overcoming challenges, including COVID related imponderables.
Additionally, the Minister also highlighted training as an effective tool in bolstering naval diplomacy and commended the Navy in providing training to foreign personnel in India for more than four decades. Further, in keeping with the evolving technological transformation world over in unmanned systems an Integrated Unmanned Roadmap for Navy was also promulgated by the Minister during the conference.
The Commanders interacted with the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff and discussed a wide range of issues including ways to enhance tri-services synergy in view of the evolving regional security scenario.
Chairing the conference, the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh addressed the Naval Commanders on various important issues pertaining to combat readiness, capability enhancement, credibility as Maritime Force, safety, maintenance, op logistics philosophy, infrastructure development and human resource management. He also drew attention to the prevalent security situation and the increasing mandate of IN in the contested environment of the IOR. The Commanders deliberated on methods to optimize outcomes and fulfil operational requirements within the available resource envelope, in all facets such as operations, acquisitions, infrastructure, maintenance, logistics, HR management and training. This along with placing primacy on the operational assets of the Indian Navy were themes of the Naval Commanders' Conference.
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