The Navy has maintained a high tempo of operations and established a credible and responsive presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) through ‘mission based deployments’, thereby reaffirming its position as the ‘preferred security partner’ in the IOR, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
On the prevailing security environment in the world, he stated that the ongoing Russia and Ukraine conflict had once again highlighted that being self-reliant without dependencies was a “vital necessity.”
Mr. Singh referred to the fact that of the 41 ships and submarines which were on order, 39 were being built in Indian shipyards. While the Navy had been at the forefront of indigenisation, it was important to leverage on the momentum gained thus far, he noted.
‘Another milestone event’
“The delivery of first indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant would be another milestone event. I am aware that the ship has successfully completed three sea trials. All-out efforts need to be made so that the ship is delivered and commissioned in the 75th year of Independence. This would be a fitting tribute to the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’,” he observed, addressing the Naval Commanders Conference that concluded on Thursday.
In this regard, he said, the Navy had reinvested over 64% of its capital budget into the economy. “I am told that the percentage share of modernisation budget is bound to grow up to 70% towards indigenous procurement in this current financial year.” He was conscious of the importance of long-term funding for the sustained growth of the Navy and its consistent performance in optimally utilising the allocated budget, the Minister said.
Referring to the Navy’s initiatives to further defence diplomacy, he pointed out that it had been providing training to foreign personnel, and over 19,000 personnel have been trained in the last four decades from over 45 friendly foreign countries.
