'A TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED BLUE WATER FORCE'

ADMIRAL R HARI KUMAR assumed command of the Indian Navy on 30 November 2021 as the 25th Chief of the Naval Staff. In over two years at the helm, Admiral Harti Kumar has driven the modernisation of the Indian Navy and prepared it to meet the challenges that the country faces in the Indian Ocean Region. Exclusive excerpts from a recent Q&A.

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As the principal organisation to preserve and promote India's maritime interests in general and in the Indo-Pacific in particular, do you as leader of the Bharatiya Nau Sena, consider your strength adequate to meet the emerging geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges?

No Commander would ever say that he had everything he needed, to fight every possible war, against every likely enemy, under every probable condition. Therefore, in absolute terms, it will always appear that the capabilities are insufficient.

However, we are an aspirational growing power, where military budgets will obviously be balanced against developmental, social, and welfare-oriented imperatives. Therefore, the Navy looks at maximizing the budget allocation through, detailed perspective plans that bring out exactly what is needed, how much is needed and by when. Moreover, these plans align with the broader maritime strategy being pursued. This ensures that we remain well-equipped to tackle the envisaged threats. Our endeavour is to make every rupee count, be it for capital acquisition or revenue expenditure.

Also, we have kept our focus on spending the full quota of the allocated budget - which in turn, ensures that our budgetary projections match with our plans, and the impetus remains to materialise the plan on the ground into reality. This results in timely acquisition of assets, weapons, sensors and machinery, as well as, timely maintenance and upkeep of our existing inventory.

The sum total of meticulous planning and prudent spending is that the Navy remains Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future-Proof as the budget is translated into desired capabilities and capacities, guided by the vision of being a fully AatmaNirbhar Force by 2047.