The PowerPoint presentation by navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh at the combined commanders’ conference in Kevadia, Gujarat, on March 6 this year had been some months in the making. For nearly 18 months now, the proposal to indigenously build six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) for Rs 96,000 crore had been stuck with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) as senior government officials questioned the need for the platforms during an economic crisis. The navy chief pressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the urgency of the programme to build the SSNs, each displacing around 6,000 tonnes and costing around Rs 16,000 crore, as key to solving the crisis in India’s underseas combatant arm. The bulk of India’s conventional submarine fleet, acquired in the 1980s, are approaching the end of their 30-year service lives. Bureaucratic delays have hit their replacements.
The underseas arm is shrinking at a time when India’s principal adversary, China, has initiated the largest post Cold War naval expansion. The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) navy is now the world’s largest in a number of warships, and will continue to grow over the next decade, not only adding new aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and surface ships but also expanding its reach through distant deployments in the Indian Ocean region.
This story is from the April 26, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 26, 2021 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Semaglutide - The Wonder Drug
Its promise as a miracle medication for diabetes and obesity is taking the world-and India-by storm, but its indiscriminate use for weight loss could have dire consequences
THE GREEN DREAM
The home in Ahmedabad explores the balance between modern comfort and ecological harmony
LIGHT YEARS AHEAD
PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY OF ILLUMINATION IN A HOME DIRECTLY INFLUENCES YOUR WELLBEING. HERE'S HOW.
HUE KNEW
Three industry insiders share their favourite colour stories from projects across the country
Small Size, BIG STYLE
A home in a suitcase, designed to grab eyeballs. Follow Little R on her adventures.
Everyday Creativity
T.S. Randhawa’s Vernacular Architecture of Indiais a comprehensive—and stunning—source book on the unsung masterpieces of Indian architecture
THE GUJARATI MONOLOGUES
After performing over 1,000 shows, actor Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal now brings us a Gujarati version of The Vagina Monologues
Return of a NATIVE
Once the pride of the Maratha empire, the Bhimthadi horse had faded into oblivion in the past 200 years. Its recognition now as a separate indigenous breed could spell a reversal of fortunes for the steed
GETTING DOWN TO BRASS TACKS
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai is confident of doing well in the Lok Sabha polls. His commitment to both promised government schemes and areas of economic focus shows a deft balance between welfare and development
FOCUS PEAKING
Navin Sakhuja brings precision and intimacy to landscape photography in A Thousand Shadows