Taking a cue from the Indian Army, which is in the process of becoming lean and mean, the Navy too is working on a strategy for optimisation of resources, including manpower, to enhance its combat readiness.
Top brass of the the Indian Navy are brainstorming in the national capital, on the themes of 'Optimisation' and 'Emerging Technologies' during the three-day Navy Commanders' Conference.
The Indian Navy is the youngest amongst the three services and has a strength of over one lakh personnel. And now, efforts are being made to enhance the combat ability instead of focusing on increasing numbers in the maritime force.
"Top commanders will deliberate upon combat readiness of units and optimisation of resources, including manpower, to meet the growing list of missions and tasks that the Navy is expected to perform," the Navy said in its statement, and added that the conference would have “dedicated brain-storming sessions to discuss and conceptualise new ideas and concepts, as well as critically examine organisational structures and processes to meet developing challenges and threats to maritime security.”
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"Commanders would also look at utilising emerging technologies such as Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness," it further said.
The conference also undertook a review of the Navy’s mission-based deployments with the aim of maximising the benefits accrued from the deployment of Indian Navy ships and aircraft to critical areas within the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). At a given point of time, more than two dozen ships of Indian Navy are on mission-based deployment in the IOR, carrying out anti-piracy patrol and aiding humanitarian assistance.
In the recent times, the Indian Ocean Region has seen a see-saw in India's relations with its neighbours —India lost its edge in Maldives during Abdulla Yameen's regime. But with the new government in place in the island nation, the situation is expected to be in India's favour. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, has witnessed the Chinese influence in the recent past.
"The Indian Navy has witnessed an unprecedented growth in its operational tasking over the past decade in consonance with India’s rising maritime interests. The Navy has adopted the ‘Mission-based Deployment’ philosophy and the ‘Maintenance-to-Operations’ transition cycle over the past year to address the need to be present and to respond to emerging situations in the IOR," the Indian Navy said.
The Navy claims that under Security and Growth for All in the Region' (SAGAR) vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Navy has been at the forefront of providing an environment of stability and peace in the IOR.
"As the premier Navy in the region, the Indian Navy aspires to remain the 'Net Security Provider' in the Indian Ocean through collaboration and cooperation with like-minded and friendly nations," the Navy statement added.
The Navy officials say that measures such as information sharing with other navies as well as combining defence diplomacy initiatives such as bi-lateral exercises and port visits into these deployments will be taken up during the conference.
The conference is being held every six months to review the operational preparedness of Navy, along with a host of other administrative and logistics issues.
