Page 31 - Indian Navy

Indian Navy has steadfastly protected our nation, says PM Modi on Navy Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday extended greetings on Navy Day and said the force has distinguished itself with its humanitarian spirit

Navy to open all branches for women from next year: Chief of Naval Staff

The Indian Navy is looking at opening all its branches for women from next year, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference a day ahead of the Navy Day, Admiral Kumar also said that the first batch of around 3,000 'Agniveers' has been inducted and it included 341 women. In December last year, Navy officials said 28 women officers were deployed on board around 15 frontline warships, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and the number is set to go up. "The first batch of Agniveers have already reported. About 3,000 Agniveers have joined out of which 341 are women. This is a landmark event for us because for the first time, the Navy is inducting women sailors. We have been inducting women officers for about the last 16-17 years, but this is for the first time that we are inducting women sailors," Admiral Kumar said. He said the Navy will open all its branches to women officers from next year. "Come next year, we are looking at wo

Next aircraft carrier might also be a small one, says Admiral Kumar

Successive navy chiefs have publicly stated that INS Vishal, the expected name for IAC-2, would be a 65,000-tonne carrier that would embark 55-60 aircraft

Proposed procurement of predator drones from US under process: Navy chief

The case for the proposed procurement of a fleet of Predator drones from the US is under process, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday. The original proposal was to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion to crank up India's surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region. "The case for the procurement is under process. We are discussing whether the numbers have to be rationalised," the Navy Chief said while replying to a question at his annual press conference. The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul last month. In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics for a period of one year for surveillance in the Indian Ocean. The lease period has been extended subsequently. "We have gained good ..

President Murmu to witness Navy's Operational Demonstration in Vizag

: The Navy will put on show India's combat prowess at the Navy Day celebration at the Ramakrishna Beach here on Sunday. For the first time, the main Navy Day event is being organised outside New Delhi, but President of India Droupadi Murmu will join the celebrations as the guest of honour. Navy Day is celebrated every year on December 4 to acknowledge the role of Indian Navy and commemorate its achievements in Operation Trident' during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar is hosting the event in which, besides the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and other dignitaries will take part. As India is marching into its Amrit Kaal', celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the Navy will demonstrate the country's combat prowess and capabilities through an Operational Demonstration' at Visakhapatnam. Indian Naval ships, submarines, aircraft and special forces from Eastern,

Two new fast interceptor crafts to be inducted in Navy's Bengal area

Two new fast interceptor crafts will be inducted in the Indian Navy's Bengal area, taking its total fleet strength at Kolkata to eight, a top official said on Friday. For any other effort necessary in the coastline or in the shores of West Bengal, he said that surface ships or naval aircrafts are brought in from Visakhapatnam, the Eastern Naval Command headquarters. "The Navy has two fast interceptor crafts, which have been recently inducted and we hope that two more will join in the future," Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC) Commodore Rituraj Sahu said at a press conference at INS Netaji Subhas, the Navy's Bengal area base headquarters here. Sahu said the Navy's Bengal area has four more capable patrol crafts in Kolkata. The 51st Indian Navy Day will be celebrated on December 4 to commemorate the audacious and devastating attack carried out by the Indian Naval forces' missile boats on Pakistan naval warships, and Karachi port on that date in 1971 under Operation Trident'. "The succe

Best of BS Opinion: Dharavi's human factors, Fighting naval battle & more

Here are the top BS Opinion articles of the day

Fighting the naval battle

China's navy is the fastest-growing in the world, but a formidable adversary to rein in its might in the Indo-Pacific is taking shape

Chinese intrusions into Indian Ocean not uncommon, says Indian Navy

The Indian Navy on Wednesday said it keeps surveillance over the Indian Ocean Region where "the Chinese intrusions are not uncommon" and asserted that the force was committed to protect the country's interest in the strategic area. Southern Naval Command (SNC) chief, Vice Admiral M A Hampiholi, said the Indian Navy keeps surveillance in the region through satellites and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. His statement comes amid reports that a Chinese spy vessel has entered the Indian Ocean Region for the second time in the past few months. "The Chinese intrusions into the Indian Ocean region are not uncommon. They have been here for quite some time...I must assure you that we keep our areas of interest under surveillance throughout. We do that using a variety of means...," SNC chief told reporters here in response to a query on the news reports on the Chinese spy vessel reaching Sri Lankan port. He said the Navy also keeps surveillance through satellites, maritime reconnaissance ..

India seeks consular access to 8 ex-navy officers detained in Qatar: MEA

India on Thursday said it had sought further consular access to eight of its former navy officers under detention in Qatar for nearly three months. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the Indian embassy in Doha has been pursuing the matter with the Qatar authorities. Bagchi said some relatives of the detained officers were allowed to meet them in Qatar. Qatar authorities had taken Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), the managing director of Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, and seven others into custody on August 30. The other detained officers are Cdr Navtej Singh Gill, Cdr Birendra Kumar Verma, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Capt Saurab Vasisht, and Ragesh Gopakumar. "I would refer you to the government of Qatar for the reasons for their arrest," Bagchi said to questions about the reasons for the arrest of the eight Indian nationals. "This issue is something that we have been pursuing. Our embassy in Doha h

INS Trikand, INS Sumitra take part in bilateral exercise with Oman Navy

The Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate INS Trikand and offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra have participated in the 13th edition of bilateral exercise 'Naseem Al Bahr' off the coast of Oman. The exercise, which was conducted from November 19-24, had three phases -- harbour phase, sea phase and debrief, officials said. Activities undertaken during the harbour phase included professional interactions between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman operations teams and friendly sports fixtures between the two navies, they said. "The Indian Navy's guided missile stealth frigate, INS Trikand, offshore patrol vessel, INS Sumitra, and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), Dornier, participated in the 13th edition of the Indian Navy (IN)-Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) bilateral exercise 'Naseem Al Bahr' (Sea Breeze)," a Navy official said. Indian Navy ships Trikand and Sumitra, along with RNO ships Al Shinas and Al Seeb, sailed for the sea phase. IN-MPA Dornier, RNO MPA and shore-based RAFO fighte

Navy proposes operationalising Indian Ocean partnership initiative

The Indian Navy had already created a bouquet of initiatives and structures to manage the Indian Ocean

Women permitted in certain branches of Indian Navy University: Centre to HC

The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that entry of women candidates in certain branches of the Indian Navy University has now been permitted. The high court was informed that now the Indian Navy is recruiting women candidates under the Indian Navy University Entry Scheme in the executive branch's general service (X) cadre, IT and in the engineering and electrical branch. Taking note of the Centre's submissions, a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad disposed of a petition which had sought entry of women candidates in certain branches of the Indian Navy University, where admission of females was barred. The PIL, filed by lawyer Kush Kalra, had alleged institutional discrimination by the government and had sought a direction to it to elaborate the steps taken to permit the entry of women on par with male candidates. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, argued that a PIL filed on the subject

Third, and the biggest, edition of coastal defence exercise from today

"Coastal security being a major sub-set of coastal defence, the concept of 'Exercise Sea Vigil' is to activate the coastal security apparatus across India," stated the Ministry of Defence

Testing, evaluation facility for sonar systems for Navy launched by DRDO

Giving impetus to the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and the 'Make in India' initiative, a testing and evaluation facility for sonar systems to be used by the Indian Navy has been launched by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, an official statement said on Monday. It is a state-of-the-art system developed for use by the Navy onboard various platforms, including ships, submarines and helicopters, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. "Giving impetus to the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India' commitment, the DRDO launched Hull Module of Submersible Platform for Acoustic Characterisation & Evaluation (SPACE) facility at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, recently," it said. The SPACE facility is based on the concept design and requirements projected by NPOL and has been constructed by L&T Shipbuilding, Chennai, it said. This will be mainly utilised for evaluating sonar systems, allowing for quick deployment and easy recovery of ..

Deal with fishermen in more humane way: Indian Navy to Lankan peers

The Indian Navy has urged its Sri Lankan counterpart to adopt a more humane approach towards Indian fishermen. This was discussed during the Indian Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting held aboard a Lankan ship in the Bay of Bengal on November 4. Flag officer commanding (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry-naval area) S Venkat Raman spoke to Lankan Navy commander (northern naval area) Tennekoon during the 32nd edition of the meeting, a defence press release said on Saturday. The meeting onboard 'Sayura' saw a discussion on maritime security and safety of Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait. "The Indian delegation urged the Sri Lankan security agencies to show a more humane approach towards the Indian fishermen. Both delegations reiterated the need for expeditious information-sharing, especially on issues that require immediate action", the release said. The interaction between the two officers acted as a forum to the Navy and Coast Guards of the two countries to further enhance ties and ..

Navy Chief Kumar arrives in Tokyo for quadrilateral naval Exercise Malabar

Exercise Malabar includes sophisticated naval drills, in which the navies of The US, India, Japan, and Australia, practice engaging a hostile power

Indian Navy must remain combat ready and credible force: CNS Admiral

The Indian Navy must remain a "combat-ready, credible, cohesive and future-proof force" to navigate the turbulent security scenario, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said in an address to top naval commanders amid China's increasing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean region. Referring to various challenges facing India in the maritime domain, the admiral talked about the "complex security landscape", terrorism, the rise of "non-state actors" and the expanding influence of "large corporations", saying they are influencing the strategic and security calculus. He was addressing the naval commanders' conference that concluded on Thursday after deliberations for four days. In his remarks, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan reiterated the need for operational preparedness, self-reliance and the need for further integration in the armed forces towards collectively meeting India's national security imperatives. The Navy said the conference provided an opportunity to the naval ...

Revisit denial to disclose report on armed forces' pay: CIC to PMO

The Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister's Office to "revisit" its refusal to disclose under the RTI a 14-year old report by a Group of Ministers led by former External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on pay and pension of armed forces personnel on grounds that it was "highly sensitive". The directive came after the RTI applicant told the panel that substantial portions of the report that were termed "highly sensitive" and "prejudicially affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India" by the PMO, have already been declassified and disclosed by the Defence Ministry. Through his RTI application dated January 31, 2021, S Y Savur had sought the copy of the report submitted by Mukherjee on December 19, 2008 for then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's approval and copy of the approval along with file notes, office memorandum along with all relevant information that "preceded" the approval. The PMO had refused to disclose the report and other documents, calling t

Andhra cadre IAS Giridhar Aramane takes charge as new defence secretary

Seasoned bureaucrat Giridhar Aramane on Tuesday assumed charge as the new defence secretary at a time the government has been focusing on modernising the three services. Aramane, a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was serving as secretary of the ministry of road transport and highways prior to his new assignment. Before taking charge, Aramane laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and paid homage to the fallen heroes. "We draw inspiration from these bravehearts and promise to work towards fulfilling their dream of making India a safe and prosperous country," he said. Aramane succeeded Ajay Kumar, who retired from service on Monday. In his 32-year career as an IAS officer, Aramane has held various important positions in the central government as well as the Andhra Pradesh government. He also served as an additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat. Aramane looked after the exploration division in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas and was exec