| Admiral
Dhowan opening the seminar, proudly stated, “The Indian Navy no longer has to
order platforms from abroad and has built up the capability to build from aircraft
carriers to submarines and over forty eight platforms are on order in India, none
abroad”. This is indeed a milestone achievement. India’s Navy has become a builder’s
navy that can design and construct ships, aircraft carriers and submarines. India’s
home designed 37,500-tonne aircraft carrier Vikrant he said, is progressing at
Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) while its below deck equipment including four LM-2500
GE engines, Wartsila generators and basic accommodation spaces and galley are
impressively laid out. Side lifts from Russia and weapon lifts from USA are being
fitted for trials in 2017. Dhowan stated the Indian Navy’s strength stands at
138 ships and 250 aircraft, helicopters and UA Vs. These include two aircraft
carriers, eight large missile destroyers, twenty frigates, six large naval Offshore
Patrol Vessels (OPVs), and thirteen conventional submarines and one nuclear submarine
Chakra on lease. The Indian Navy plans to have 167 warships and submarines,
and 400 aviation assets including three aircraft carriers by 2022. Vice Admiral
AV Subhedar, Chief of Materiel, delivered the welcome address and Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar in his keynote address called upon the industry to play a significant
role in the accomplishment of national security and India’s quest for self reliance.
The Minister applauded the role of DRDO in supporting the Navy in achieving their
goals towards indigenisation and lauded the efforts put in by the Indian Navy
and released a document titled “Indian Naval Indigenisation Plan (INIP)” and a
compendium of technical papers of seminar. Mr Sukaran Singh, CE O, Tata Advanced
Systems, representing CII addressed the seminar and Mr Anil Ambani of Reliance
recalled his father Dhirubhai’s humble beginnings and achievements, and how he
gave India world class industries and a refinery. He said his father’s vision
had driven him to enter India’s defence industry and disclosed plans to invest
Rs 5,000 crore in the sector. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group has taken over control
of the sprawling Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Ltd with Asia’s largest
dry dock which India Strategic
had reported after a site visit. However, it remains underutilised with the Navy
having ordered only five Naval OPVs for around Rs 1,900 crore. In a recent move,
Pipavav’s top management has been revamped and Russia has announced it has selected
Pipavav shipyard for shipbuilding the new Krivacks and supporting refit of Russia
supplied ships and submarines. Ms Shubhra Singh, Joint Secretary Department
Of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ministry Of Commerce, addressed the
gathering during the inaugural session and stated that over 56 defence industry
licenses had been issued and listed all the steps taken to make Defence sector
investor friendly which now permits 49 per cent FDI and 24 per cent as Institutional
investment and even allows 100 per cent in strategic sectors case by case. She
gave details of applications possible on the net and the time bound manner in
which queries and licenses are cleared. The Naval Design Bureau for surface
ships and submarines which interacts with industry has also come of age after
striving for 50 years and its achievements of making 19 designs including Shivalik,
Kamorta and Kolkata class were on display. 119 naval ships have been built in
Indian yards. The Navy for the first time in a stall unveiled details how Weapons
Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESE), Indian Navy’s own in-house
classified research set up, recently also staffed with DRDO men and women scientists
along with naval officers, has supported the Navy in upgrading software and electronics
equipment across the board. WESE has also provided operational solutions, designed
naval net works, catered for cyber security with interactive modems for full range
of communications including space, and inter-connected Soviet and Western weapon
systems on board front line ships. WESE has designed the world class Combat Management
System (CMS) on board INS Kolkata. Products from WESEE which includes LINK 1 to
3, are invariably manufactured and set to work by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
India’s Who’s Who in the naval industry, shipyard representatives and DRDO scientists
at the seminar, lauded the Navy for its involvement as the user, from the start
of many projects in their development cycle, up to setting to work of the equipment
on ships and aircraft. It is this involvement that has led to an improvement in
the procurement and supply chain and operational capability of the 75,000-strong
Navy. The four sessions and presentation of technical papers by naval officers,
professors, scientists and industry including TCS were packed with details on
Naval and Coast Guard plans of shipbuilding with budgets and modernistic approaches
in the sector, which is a capital risk laden industry. It came out there is need
for synergy amongst stakeholders for indigenisation, and how critical, innovative
approaches and ‘thinking out of the box’ is for self reliance and the challenges
in setting to work and induction of indigenous systems in ships. This aspect is
vital, as most medium and small navies’ cannot afford a prototype like the Air
Force makes a plane or Army a tank. The Navy has to get it right first time and
Indian Navy’s record is laudable despite orders being of low numbers. Indigenous
equipment means availability and control over the vendor which can be cost saving
too. US Navy Admiral Jonathan Greenert’s statement that in the future the platform
will not be as important as the equipment on board the platform and interoperability
came up a few times, to build ships with modular design with change of role like
US Navy has built Light Combat Ship (LCS). Risk sharing between vendor or builder
and the Government for large projects was discussed. Hence, industry eagerly looks
forward to the promised DPP-2015. The large entrants in to the naval defence
sector besides L&T, MKU and Pipavav, such as Godrej showed how they have successfully
supported indigenisation in submarines with capstan mooring winches with breakaway
chains, submarine life raft ejection system from depths, ergonomic furniture to
bear under water stresses and air-conditioning and absorbers of CO2 and associated
noiseless heaters in submarines. Another delegate d iscussed composite blowers;
another displayed AB2pK Midhani forged steel 100 bar pneumatic valves tested ashore.
HH displayed achievements in hydraulics and savings in FFE. All vendors said they
had achieved these successes by reverse engineering and the Navy holding their
hands. Rear RK Tripathi ACNS (P&P) flashed the procurement plan of 48 ships
on order and stated that Navy had received Acceptance of Necessity (AON) from
DAC for 44 platforms which include four LPDs, eight MCMVs, six SSNs and support
ships including diving support vessels with DSRVs. It was a path breaking seminar
for the industry to plan. Rear Adm KK Pandey unveiled details about Navy’s second
International Fleet Review (IFR) at Visakhapatnam in early February, 2016 where
80 navies have been invited and 56 have accepted so far including China. A large
exhibition of naval equipment will be staged at the University grounds and will
be a sequel to this Navy-CII initiative with a view to export Indian solutions
and systems too. The gathering at IFR promises to be larger and path breaking
with another fillip towards India’s maritime ambitions, ‘Shan No Varuna – May
Lord Varuna Bless India’s Navy’ ! | 
