Navy needs "assured" budget support to build capability: Chief

The Indian Navy needs an "assured" budgetary support to build its capability, its chief Admiral Karambir Singh said on Monday as he outlined challenges in realising the maritime potential of the country.

He said allocation to the Navy has reduced from 18 per cent of the defence budget in 2012-13 to 13 per cent now, impacting future force planning and capability development.

The Chief of Naval Staff also called for setting up a defence diplomacy fund.

"This way we are finding it difficult to assure the nation, that wants to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024, and give the kind of impetus (it needs) on maritime front," he added.

Admiral Singh was delivering a speech on the topic, Indian Ocean - Changing Dynamic - Maritime Security Imperatives for India, as a part of the series held in the memory of former Army chief the late General B C Joshi.

"One of the challenges is long-term budgetary support required to build Naval capability. If you want to build a ship, it takes some years and for that, we need to be assured budgetary support," he said.

When asked, during a brief interaction with reporters, whether any project had to be halted over low allocation, he said, "Because of budgetary allocation we have to do a little bit of revamping of our procurement plan. Yes, it has limited us to some extent."
"And towards this, there is though the process of having something called National Maritime Commission, which will coordinate all aspects of the maritime domain."