Naval Commanders' conference to begin on Tuesday

The Navy is all set to review its new mission-based deployment philosophy aimed at ensuring stability in the region in its first edition of this year's Naval Commanders' biannual meet beginning here on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The four-day conference, from May 8 to 11, would be addressed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the inaugural session followed by discussions with Defence Ministry officials.

As part of the deployments philosophy, aimed at responsive presence of Indian Naval ships in critical and choke points, various measures taken to improve combat efficiency like new transition cycle for ships and thereon to full-scale operations will be examined at the conference, a Ministry statement said.

"Measures to ensure safety, continued training and checks and balances on crew proficiency on-board its frontline warships will also be reviewed."

At the conference, naval commanders would deliberate upon steps to improve the teeth-to-tail ratio and explore niche fields such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics.

Harnessing cutting-edge technology, specifically those "Made-in-India", to improve organisational effectiveness and efficiency would be another key focus area of the commanders, said the statement.

The Navy has been the flag-bearer of the indigenisation and "Make in India" initiative. A total of 27 ships and submarines are under construction in Indian shipyards.

The Navy promulgated the "Indian Naval Indigenisation Plan 2015-30" which has laid down plans for the next 15 years, the statement said.

"This allows for industry to formulate strategies to meet the requirements of the Navy through the new Strategic Partnership Model, notified in May 2017, as well as domestic research and development.

"These initiatives, which are aimed at enhancing indigenous defence industrial capability extending up to the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), shall also be discussed," it said.

The optimal utilisation of the Navy's share of the defence budget through prioritising capital acquisitions and modernisation plans to bridge critical capability gaps would also be discussed.

--IANS

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