Indian Navy (IN) has constantly strived towards achieving ‘Self-Reliance through Indigenisation’ and synchronised the efforts in tandem with various flagship schemes of the Government viz., ‘Make’, ‘Technology Development Fund’ and ‘Innovation for Defence Excellence’, in addition to procurements under the ‘Revenue’ route. IN has been the torch bearer amongst the three Services to leverage the distinct advantages of Govt schemes and has engaged actively with industry partners including MSMEs and Start-ups, to encourage their active participation in our Indigenisation Programmes.
Make Scheme
IN is pursuing a total of 38 Make projects under Chapter III of DAP 2020. Presently, 26 projects are being steered under Make-II category, 10 projects under Make I category and two projects under Make III Category. In addition, Eight Make II joint projects are being steered with IA and IAF as lead services. Under Make II, AoN has been accorded for 12 projects. Prototype development contracts have been concluded for nine projects (for a cost of Rs 400.84 Cr) and 03 project are at EoI stage. Remaining 14 projects are under various stages of feasibility study/ AIP stage. Under Make I, AoN has been accorded for 02 projects, remaining 08 projects are under various stages of feasibility study/ AIP stage. Under Make III, there are two projects and presently both are at feasibility study stage.
Technology Development Fund
In order to introduce cutting edge technology on board IN platforms, 25 projects are being pursued under the ‘Technology Development Fund’ scheme. Contract has been concluded for 10 projects at a cost of Rs 34.92 Cr. One project is at CNC stage, EOI evaluation is in progress for eight projects, and six projects are at pre-AoN stage.
Joint iDEX Challenges
Exchange of various iDEX proposals by both India and US startups under ‘India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X)’ initiative was commenced in July 2023. Two proposals pertaining to maritime domain were launched by Raksha Mantri in presence of US Ambassador to India Mr Eric Garcetti during the NIIO Seminar.
iDEX Scheme: IN is progressing 41 problem statements under Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) and Open Challenge (OC) categories through 59 startups.
Induction of Niche Technologies
A wide range of niche technologies are being inducted to enhance long range precision attack capabilities. Loitering Munitions in land and sea based versions are being inducted to enhance the targeting capabilities. Additionally, containerised missile systems are being inducted to enhance the operational capability and to augment flexibility in operations.
‘Swavlamban 2023’
Swavlamban 23 seminar was scheduled at Bharat Mandapa, Pragati Maidan from October 04 to 05, 2023. Day 2 of the seminar focused on interactive session on indigenisation and armament. A dedicated interaction session was scheduled in Session II on the theme, ‘Discussion on Swavlamban 2.0 – Indian Navy’s Indigenisation Roadmap’. The target audience was primarily manufacturer/ import/ export/ service industry in Defence sector. Nearly 300 industry partners participated in the aforementioned session.
Indigenisation
Navy has transformed from a ‘Buyers Navy’ into a ‘Builders Navy’, with aircraft carrier, destroyers, stealth frigates, corvettes, submarines and other war vessels being constructed in our country. Today, of the 66 ships under construction 64 are being built in India. Further, AoN has been accorded for 24 ships and submarines that are all planned to be constructed in Indian Shipyards. At present, IN has achieved approximately 90% indigenisation in the Float segment, 60% in the Move segment, and 50% in the Fight segment. Indian Navy is committed to becoming a fully Aatmanirbhar Navy by 2047. As on date, we are on track towards this goal, and 80% of the IN Capital Budget in CFY 2023-24 has been earmarked for domestic procurements in support of GoI vision of ‘ Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
New Shipbuilding contracts in 2023
Five shipbuilding contracts at a total value of Rs 41,742.37 Cr have been concluded with Indian shipyards. Conclusion of five shipbuilding contracts within span of six months is testimony to the importance being accorded to the Indian Navy by the Govt of India. Construction of 25 ships will generate a total employment of 346.30 lakh man-days over the next one decade and engage numerous MSMEs in the shipbuilding activity.
Commissioning/ Delivery of Ships
The ships/submarines which have been commissioned this year, as also the status of shipbuilding projects underway are highlighted below:-
INS Vagir, fifth Submarine of Kalvari class, was commissioned on 23 January 2023.
Maldivian CG Ship Huravee, a Trinkat Class Fast Attack Craft was returned to India by Maldives post handing over INS Tarmugli to Govt. of Maldives in May 2023. The ship, post refit, was re-commissioned into Indian Navy as INS Tarmugli on 14 December 2023.
INS Imphal, the third Ship of Project-15B successfully completed her sea trials followed by Final machinery trials on 25 August 2023. The ship was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 October 2023 by MDL, Mumbai. The ship is planned to be commissioned on 26 December 2023.
Sandhayak (Yard 3025), the first of the four Survey Vessel (Large) ships was delivered to Indian Navy by GRSE on 4 December 2023. The ship would be commissioned in January 2024.
The third GRSE ship of Project P17A Frigates, Vindhyagiri (Yard 3024), was launched on Aug 17, 2023 at GRSE, Kolkata
The fourth ship of Survey Vessel Large, i.e. Sanshodhak (Yard 3028) was launched on 13 June 2023 at L&T Kattupalli.
Two ASW Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) namely Androth (Yard 3035) and Anjadip (Yard 3030) were launched on 21 March and 13 June 2023 respectively at GRSE, Kolkata. Three more ASW SWC namely Mahe (Yard 523), Malvan (Yard 524) and Magrol (Yard 525) were concurrently launched on 30 November 2023 at CSL, Kochi.
The last of the seven P17A ships, i.e. Mahendragiri (Yard 12654) was launched on 1 Sep 2023 at MDL, Mumbai.
1st Diving Support Craft A-20 (Yard-325) was launched on 31 August 2023 at Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd, Kolkata.
