BUILDERS NAVY

The Indian Navy's modernisation efforts are picking up steam, with domestic shipyards running at full capacity, reports MIKE RAJKUMAR

- MIKE RAJKUMAR

The Indian Navy is tasked with maintaining the nation's primacy as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region and defending India's sea lanes of trade in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. As a major maritime nation, India's continued rise in vital economic and security interests linked to the seas is predicated on its continued and uninterrupted access. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has termed the Indian Navy as the biggest guarantee of peace in the entire IOR, including the Bay of Bengal. 'The countries with which India shares its maritime boundaries should understand that maritime security is a collective effort. Summoning external forces at your doorstep hurts this effort. Maintaining peace & order in the Bay of Bengal and IOR should be the top priority of all of us.'

The Navy's role has also expanded considerably during peacetime as well and while it has in place a detailed ship-building plan, delays in various shipbuilding programmes along with the decommissioning of various ships has left it far smaller than ideal. As a result, the modernisation of the Indian Navy is of vital importance, and while dogged by a continued decline in its warship strength, it is now being reinvigorated by naval vessels and maritime systems being developed by an increasingly capable domestic maritime industry.

The Indian Navy has the proud distinction of being known as a 'Builders Navy' and presently has a large number of warships and other vessels under construction in Indian shipyards. The state-owned shipbuilder Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) is currently in the midst of executing three vital important projects for the navy. Arguably, the most important of these is the construction of the P-75 'Scorpene' class submarines under license from the French Shipbuilder Naval Group. MDL has already delivered five of the conventional diesel-electric SSKs, and the sixth and final submarine was supposed to have been delivered in October.