Will take Make in India to its logical conclusion, says Navy chief Lanba

The Indian Navy plans to adopt “disruptive” technologies in the coming months to bolster its communications, surveillance and weapons systems capabilities, a top government official said on Wednesday.

“The government will take a decision in the coming days regarding innovations in manufacturing… the roadmap is clear,” G Satheesh Reddy, scientific advisor to the Defence Minister, said.

He was speaking at a seminar on 'Building India’s Future Navy: Technology Imperatives’ organised by industry chamber FICCI in Delhi.

The disruptive technologies that the Indian Navy will induct will primarily be in the areas of “high throughput satellite communication systems, directed energy weapons system and meta-material-based surveillance systems”.

Reddy made a strong pitch for leveraging the government’s signature Make in India initiative to scale up domestic defence manufacturing capabilities.

Reddy said that the Indian Navy should “synergise academia, R&D and private firms and establish centres of excellence” to enable better maritime operations.

Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba said that the Indian Navy has made rapid technological advances, “bridging the gap between fact and fiction”.

Admiral Lanba said that the Indian Navy has adopted the Make in India programme, and it was important to move towards 100 percent indigenisation keeping in mind “key needs of the end users”.

“We will take Make in India to its logical conclusion,” he said. "We have moved from a buyer Navy to a builder Navy".

“We need to keep pace with technology, not only for today but for tomorrow,” the Navy chief said, underlining the need for rapid induction of newer technologies into India’s maritime operations.

“Navy is technology-driven…what is required is access to new technology and means to adapt new technology,” said Vivek Lall, chief executive US and international strategic development, General Atomics.

Make in India and the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 will be a game changer for naval operations, helping the Indian Navy become more self-sufficient and advanced, he said.

While advancement in technological and self-sufficiency are adding laurels to maritime brigade, “allocation of budgets and build-up of manpower” are going to be critical variables that will determine adoption of these technologies.