Navy already sailing through ‘Make in India' channel: Admiral Dhowan

Ezhimala (Kerala), Nov. 29: The Indian Navy said on Saturday that it would sail an extra mile to take complete benefit of the government's ‘Make in India' policy. Responding to a query posed by OneIndia, during a media interaction at the Indian

Naval Academy (INA) here, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan said that the Navy always backed all home-grown initiatives.

"We have been sailing on the side of self-reliance for over 50 years now. The Naval Design Bureau is a testimony to our efforts to make Indian products. Currently, over 41 ships are being manufactured at various naval shipyards in India," Admiral Dhowan said.

Naval blueprint on self-reliance

He said the entire blueprint of Indian Navy is been planned around the sole self-reliance mission. "We have been putting lots of efforts to put Indian technologies onboard our assets. It is a continuous process," Admiral Dhowan said.

To a query on the expansion plans at INA and the opposition from the locals in parting with their land, the Navy Chief said"

"The development of Navy is the development of the nation. We are following all laid down procedures of the land while acquiring the land." He said the Navy is strictly following its vision of zero carbon footprints at all its bases.

Karwar expansion on track

He said the Phase-I activities at the Karwar base (Project Seabird) has been completed with the ship-lift facility going live.

"We have begun the Phase-II work and it will be completed in the next 8-10 years. More berths for ships will come up at the base as the base gets fully developed," Admiral Dhowan said.

To a specific query whether the use can technology can come to the aid fishermen to identify the maritime borders, the Navy Chief said that all possibilities will be explored.

The C4I message to new officers

While addressing the Passing-out Parade (POP) at INA today, the Navy Chief said that the officers should keep the C4I (commitment, courage, compassion, credibility and integrity) mantra always closer to their minds. "Integrity has to be always above any doubts. Routine mediocrity should not become your daily standards," he told the officers.

Around 380 cadets of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard passed through the portals of the INA on Saturday. The PoP marked the commissioning of the cadets of the 87th INA Course (B Tech) into the Indian Navy. A total of 43 female cadets too graduated on the occasion.

Emotions were running high at the INA with hundreds of parents assembled to see their wards passing out with pride. Soon after the parade, the much-awaited ‘Shipping-of-Stripes' was held with the parents shipping the epaulettes (stripes) on the shoulders of their children.

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(The writer is a seasoned aerospace and defence journalist in India. He is the Consulting Editor (Defence) with OneIndia. He tweets @writetake.)