Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, says the Navy has a long-term plan in place for the expansion of the Indian Naval Academy (INA) here.
Talking to reporters after a passing-out parade here on Wednesday,
Admiral Lanba said capability enhancement at the INA was going on according to the 15-year plan.
Institutions like the INA also played a role in initiatives such as the Defence Diplomacy Fund for promoting cooperation with like-minded nations in the world. “The Navy trains a whole lot of sailors and officers from a number of countries. Officers from over 30 countries are trained on an yearly basis,” he said, adding that almost 1,000 personnel from the the friendly countries were trained by the Indian Navy.
To a question, the Chief of Naval Staff said that the Navy had changed its pattern of deployment. Under the new mission-based deployment, ingress and egress routes of the Indian Ocean were safeguarded by deployment of ships and aircraft. He said the Navy had over the years increased the intake of women officers to be deployed in new avenues and branches such as the Naval Armament Inspectorate.
To another question, Admiral Lanba said focus was given to the maritime security segment as the nation had now realised that the economic future and growth of the country was linked to the oceans. “Over 90% of our energy requirement comes through the oceans,” he said.
Referring to projects such as ‘Sagarmala’ for development of boats and interlinking infrastructure and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s initiative, Security and Growth for all the Region (SAGAR), he said that the Navy was working in close co-ordination to ensure maritime security in the global commons.
Earlier, he reviewed the passing out parade of the cadets of the Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. After the parade, he presented medals to meritorious cadets. The President’s Gold Medal for the best cadet of the INA B.Tech. course was awarded to Midshipman Rishav Saha, Chief of the Naval Staff Gold Medal for the Naval Orientation (Extended) Course to cadet Anil Choudhary, Chief of the Naval Staff Gold Medal for the Naval Orientation (Regular) Course to cadet Gaurav Tyagi, and the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (South) Medal for the best women cadet to Anjani Pandey.
