Strongly pitching for indigenisation of warships and submarines, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan today said the future of Indian Navy is firmly anchored on indigenisation and the force has transformed from "Buyers Navy" to "Builder's Navy" after relentless efforts.
After commissioning the Navy's largest indigenously built offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra at the Chennai Port Trust here, he said, "The blueprint of the future of Indian Navy is firmly anchored on self-reliance and indigenisation. We currently have 41 ships and submarines under construction in different private and public shipyards within the country."
"It is a matter of great pride that with relentless efforts we have transformed from a Buyers Navy to a Builder's Navy", he said.
It should now be Navy's endeavour to constantly increase the percentage of indeginisation content so that future warships for Indian Navy will truly be 100 per cent made in the country, he said.
Noting that a major threat in the maritime domain was in the form of asymmetric warfare and maritime terrorism, he said, "In recent years, the responsibility of Indian Navy in safeguarding maritime frontiers and carrying out tasks related to coastal security has increased manifold".
"India has a vast maritime line and the responsibility of protecting them falls on the shoulders of men in white uniform", he said.
