SAILING BACK TO DOMINANCE

At THE WEEK-GRSE 'Sagar SankalpReclaiming India's Maritime Glory' conclave in Kolkata, policymakers, naval leaders and industry experts shared their visions and plans on strengthening India's maritime defence and shipbuilding capabilities.

- JOSE K. GEORGE

Forever bound to its seas, India has had a glorious maritime past. Waters continue to shape the country's present and future, with India's trade arteries, energy flows and strategic interests deeply tied to the oceans.

Yet, over time, the dominance India once enjoyed slowly diminished, even as its civilisational and trade ties to the seas continued. As its prosperity and security are closely linked to the oceans, protecting maritime trade routes and strategic waters has become imperative for India amid growing geopolitical uncertainties and shifting power equations.

India's maritime defence sector has been progressing at an unprecedented pace in the past few years, in line with the rapid technological advancements taking place across the world.

These were taken note of at the 'Sagar Sankalp-Reclaiming India's Maritime Glory, a high-level maritime defence dialogue organised by THE WEEK in association with GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers) and supported by Bharat Forge, Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), Marine Electricals, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Titagarh Rail Systems Limited. Various industry leaders and stakeholders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur, concurred at the dialogue that while the country's maritime defence sector has made much progress, there are still many nautical miles to cover to reclaim the lost glory.

The coming together of THE WEEK―which, as Chief Associate Editor & Director Riyad Mathew pointed out, has made defence and maritime reporting its forte with dedicated website sections-and GRSE, a leading warship maker, marks a collaboration that could meaningfully advance India's maritime defence ecosystem at a time when the government is intensifying its push for self-reliance in defence and shipbuilding under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.