Maritime Stocktaking

Why in News?

• As India celebrates the Navy Day on December 4, the article highlights the need to focus on maritime security and building a strong navy to meet India’s global aspirations.
• The Indian Navy Day is being celebrated to commemorate the Indian Navy’s counter-attack in Operation Trident during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.

 

What are some Indian Naval feats in the past?

• The navy of 10th century South Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola vanquished the Sumatra-based Sri Vijaya to establish Chola power across present-day Malaysia and Indonesia.
• The Zamorins of Kozhikode waged a 90-year-long naval campaign led by the captains of the Kunjali Marakkar clan to eject the Portuguese from Malabar.
• The 17th century Maratha Konkan fleet actively attacked the British, Dutch and Portuguese, scoring many victories.
• In 1736, Bombay’s Lovji Nusserwanji Wadia started Wadia master shipbuilders constructing merchantmen and warships for the British.
• In 1941, Seth Walchand Hirachand resurrected Indian shipbuilding by founding Scindia Shipyard Ltd. in Visakhapatnam and built first modern, Indian-built merchant vessel, MV Jalusha in 1948.
  • It was later nationalized in 1961 and renamed as Hindustan Shipyard Limited and brought under the Ministry of Shipping.
  • In 2010, Ministry of Defence took it under its control.

 

What are the assets acquired by Indian navy after independence?

• INS Nilgiri: Mazagon Docks delivered India’s first warship in 1972. According to the Defence Ministry website, the Indian Navy’s present force level is of about 150 ships and submarines.
• INS Arihant: The Indian Navy has developed the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant in 2016.
• INS Vikrant: India launched its largest indigenously built warship, which is an aircraft carrier capable of operating the Russian MiG-29K.
• INS Visakhapatnam: It is a stealth guided-missile destroyer ship inducted in the Indian Navy in 2021.
• INS Surat and Udaygiri: Indian Navy in 2022 launched two frontline warships, INS Surat - a Project 15B Destroyer, and INS Udaygiri - a Project 17A Frigate.
  • The Project 15B class of ships are the next-generation stealth-guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.
  • Under the P17A programme, various novel concepts and technologies have been adopted for the first time in indigenous warship design and construction in this project.
• Marine Commandos (MARCOS): This special force unit of the Indian Navy, trained to conduct amphibious warfare, counter-terrorism, etc. were the first to respond to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

 

What are some major operations of Indian Navy?

• Operation Trident: It was a counter-attack by the Indian Navy on the Karachi harbour during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.
  • In this operation, India used anti-ship missiles (such as INS Veer) for the first time during this operation and destroyed the Pakistani destroyer ship PNS Khaibar.
• Op Python: It was launched after Op Trident in which Karachi port was attacked during Indo- Pak war 1971.
• Op Cactus: It was conducted to pacify the situation in Maldives and Sri Lanka in 1988. INS Godavari and INS Betwa were involved in the operation at the Sri Lankan coast.
• Op Talwar: It was planned during Kargil war in 1999 when Indian Navy prepared a blockade for the Pakistani boats near the Karachi port to stop the supply of oil and fuel.
  • Indian Navy also threatened to cut the trade routes of the Pakistan and started patrolling in the Arabian Sea.

 

Why India needs to strengthen its maritime security?

• For national security and territorial integrity: India is predominantly peninsular in nature with a coastline of 7,517 km and 1,197 islands which are important from aspect of national security.
  • Preventing sea-based threats such as piracy, illegal immigration, weapon smuggling, terrorist attacks etc. are critical to India’s territorial integrity.
• Securing Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs): India’s exports and imports take place mostly across the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean. Therefore, securing SLOCs is critical for smooth and constant trade.
• Hostile neighbourhood: China’s aggressive posturing and growing military presence in the Indian Ocean as depicted by the military base at Djibouti, the satellite and missile tracking ship, Yuan Wang 5 in Hambantota Port, Sri Lanka etc., stresses upon the security imperative of Indian navy.
• Regional Uncertainty: The conflicts in countries such as in Somalia, Yemen, Iran, and other countries which lie in Indian Ocean region (IOR) makes maritime security more significant.

 

What are the issues with Indian navy’s indigenization?

• Imported items: Many of the ship’s major systems, including gas-turbine engines, guns, missiles and radars, are still imported.
  • Also, various aviation-related facilities such as workshops, aircraft lifts, arrester-wires and landing-aids, vital for flying operations are of foreign origin.
• Slow pace of indigenization: New, indigenously designed, destroyers and stealth frigates, fielding long-range sensors and heavily armed with missiles, guns and anti-submarine weapons are being delivered at a slow but steady pace by domestic shipyards.

 

What are the efforts taken to boost Indian navy?

• Indian Navy Indigenization Plan (INIP) 2015-2030: It aims to enable indigenous development of equipment and system e.g., machinery, electrical, weapon spares etc. over the next 15 years.
• Naval Aviation Indigenization Roadmap (NAIR) 2022-2027: The objective of this roadmap is to indigenize more than 550 components, including all fast-moving aircraft mandatory spares and high-cost indigenous repairs.
  • It also seeks tap the expertise of indigenous aviation elements viz. Aero Cluster Labs, ISRO, HAL, Pawan Hans, IAF, Academia and Industry.
• Naval Innovation and Indigenization Organization (NIIO): It was launched in August 2020 to provide a flexible and accessible interface for academia and industry with Indian Navy capability development apparatus.

 

What more can be done for marine security?

• Boosting Navy-industry relationship: It needs to be founded more on partnership rather than a mere customer-supplier relationship.
  • This will help accommodate evolutionary designs of state-of-the-art equipment to meet the rising aspirations of the naval staff
  • This will help both parties for sharing the risks of development as well as the benefits of new technology with reduced costs.

 

Conclusion

• The need is to cut down on defense imports and boost domestic manufacturing has gained further urgency due to ongoing Russian war in Ukraine and the large-scale dependency of Indian military on Russian arms and equipment.
• Given India’s political leadership’s regional and global aspirations, the indigenization can make significant contribution to outshine India as a regional “net security provider”.

 

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Q1) What is the motto of the Indian Navy?

The invocation to Lord Varuna (The Sea God) in the Vedas was adopted by Indian Navy for its emblem, with the Motto: “Sam no Varunah”, meaning: “Be auspicious unto us Oh Varuna”. The inscription of “Satyamev Jayate” below the State Emblem was included in the Indian Navy's Crest.

 

Q2) Is Indian Navy Indigenization Plan working?

By April 2022, the Navy has indigenised around 3400 items under INIP, including over 2000 machinery and electrical spares, over 1000 aviation spares and over 250 weapon spares. Since 2014, 78 % of Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), by value, and 68 % of contracts, by value, have been awarded to Indian vendors.

 

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Source: This Navy Day, let’s focus on building a strong navy to meet India’s global aspirations