Jalmev Yasya, Balmev Tasya – One who controls the sea is powerful.
As India marks Navy Day on December 4 – observed each year to commemorate the Navy’s successful Operation Trident during the 1971 Indo-Pak War – the force’s long-term transformation under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative has come into sharp focus. The Navy’s Vision 2047 aims to build a fully indigenous and technologically advanced fleet driven by innovation, systematic indigenisation, and the integration of emerging technologies.
Recent milestones reflect the pace of this transition. The commissioning of INS Mahe on November 24, 2025, added to a growing list of domestically built platforms. In August, the Navy inducted its 100th and 101st indigenous warships – INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri – signalling a strengthening industrial and technological base. Over the past decade, Indian shipyards have delivered more than 40 indigenous warships and submarines, with an average induction rate of one new vessel every 40 days in the last year.
Indigenisation has become a strategic requirement to improve operational autonomy, reduce reliance on foreign vendors, and ensure supply-chain resilience. India’s maritime geography makes these objectives critical. With a coastline of 11,098 kilometres and an Exclusive Economic Zone spanning 2.4 million sq. km, India depends heavily on secure sea routes for economic stability. About 90 percent of its trade and 80 percent of critical freight -including coal, petroleum, iron ore, and fertilizers – moves through maritime pathways, while nearly half of global trade passes through the Indo-Pacific. The Navy’s responsibilities extend beyond traditional combat operations to humanitarian assistance, disaster response, anti-piracy missions, protection of merchant shipping, and maritime domain awareness. Since 2008, the Navy’s deployments in the Gulf of Aden and along the East African coast have ensured safe transit for 3,765 merchant vessels and more than 27,260 seafarers.
The Indian Naval Indigenisation Plan (INIP) 2015-2030 has been central to advancing self-reliance. Designed as a 15-year roadmap, INIP focuses on indigenising equipment across the Float, Move, and Fight categories, identifying gaps in propulsion systems, weapons, sensors, and underwater technologies. It has encouraged partnerships with DRDO, DPSUs, private industry, and MSMEs, while promoting Buy Indian and Buy & Make Indian procurement categories. Under this framework, more than 5,000 items have been identified for domestic sourcing, contributing to the Navy’s shift from a “Buyer’s Navy” to a “Builder’s Navy.”
Today, India can design and build a full spectrum of naval platforms, including aircraft carriers, frontline warships, research vessels, and commercial ships. The Navy’s Warship Design Bureau has designed over a hundred vessels, supported by deeper collaboration with academia, including IITs. According to the Navy, indigenisation levels have reached around 90 percent in Float, 60 percent in Move, and 50 percent in Fight components, with the remaining gaps concentrated in complex weapons and sensors.
Shipbuilding remains the backbone of this transformation. Fifty-one large ships worth approximately ₹90,000 crore are under construction across Indian yards. Major programs include INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier built with 76 percent local content, and the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers under Project 15B. The P17A Nilgiri-class stealth frigates, Kolkata-class destroyers under Project 15A, and Shivalik-class frigates under Project 17 highlight the maturing surface fleet. Survey vessels such as INS Sandhayak, INS Nirdeshak, and INS Ikshak, and ASW Shallow Water Crafts including INS Arnala, INS Androth, and INS Mahe reflect similar progress.
India’s submarine programme has also advanced. Under Project-75, six Kalvari-class submarines have been inducted, the latest being INS Vagsheer in January 2025. DRDO is developing an indigenous Air Independent Propulsion system for future integration. Indigenous sonar systems – including USHUS-2, HUMSA NG/UG, ABHAY, and ALTAS – have strengthened underwater capabilities.
Significant advancements have also been made in weapons, sensors and combat systems. DRDO has recently handed over a set of newly developed surveillance systems and platforms to the Navy. Indigenous systems such as the VL-SRSAM, BrahMos, Varunastra heavyweight torpedo, ALWT lightweight torpedo, Maareech torpedo defence system, and electronic warfare suites including Shakti and Sangraha have improved combat readiness.
Naval aviation is gradually incorporating indigenous platforms, with HAL’s ALH Dhruv and shipborne variants supporting multiple missions, including surveillance and search and rescue. More than 340 Dhruv helicopters have been produced, with some exported to Mauritius and Nepal.
The growth of the domestic shipbuilding ecosystem is supported by major shipyards like Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The modernisation of shipyards and linkages with research institutions have enabled complex projects such as INS Vikrant, which incorporates equipment from BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, L&T, and more than 100 MSMEs. Warship-grade steel developed jointly by the Navy, DRDO, and SAIL has made India self-reliant in producing steel for naval platforms.
The financial commitment to naval capability has expanded significantly. India’s defence budget has grown from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013–14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025–26. The Navy’s budget has nearly doubled since 2020–21, rising from ₹49,623 crore to ₹1,03,548 crore in 2025–26. Capital expenditure – earmarked for ships, submarines, aircraft, and weapons – increased from ₹26,688 crore to ₹62,545 crore over the same period. The Navy’s share of the defence budget has risen from 15 percent in 2020–21 to 21 percent in 2025–26.
Multiple policy mechanisms are driving these outcomes. The Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO), established in 2020, coordinates innovation efforts across the Navy and industry. The SPRINT challenges, unveiled in 2022, aim to induct at least 75 indigenous technologies into naval platforms and have resulted in collaborations with more than 213 MSMEs and startups through the iDEX framework. Under iDEX, innovators receive funding of up to ₹10 crore to develop solutions for defence needs. The SRIJAN portal, launched in 2020, lists items for industry-led indigenisation, with over 38,000 items uploaded and more than 14,000 indigenised by the Navy and other services as of February 2025. The Ministry of Defence’s Positive Indigenisation Lists, now covering more than 5,500 items, have ensured exclusive domestic sourcing of key systems and components.
Nearly 67 percent of the Navy’s capital acquisition contracts over the past decade have gone to Indian industry. The Navy is currently pursuing 194 innovation and indigenisation projects aimed at reducing dependency on imports and building long-term maritime capability.
As India’s maritime responsibilities expand across the Indo-Pacific, the Navy’s transition into a builder’s navy remains central to strengthening national security and economic resilience. Its indigenisation progress reflects a broader push toward self-reliance, supported by industry, MSMEs, startups, research institutions, and government policy.
