IN aiming for technological self-reliance: Admiral Soni

[indian_foxhound]

The Indian Navy is committed to promoting self- reliance in military technology to help sustain the
country’s economic growth, a top naval
commander said here Friday.”The momentous
economic growth of the nation has to be
sustained by suitable security measures.
Accordingly, the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan lays down a force level of 200 ships, 600
aircraft and about 20 submarines apart from
shore based assets and infrastructure,” said Vice
Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding in
Chief, Southern Naval Command, inaugurating a
seminar organised by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). While lauding BEL for its customer engagement
initiative, Vice Admiral Soni sought good
waterfront support infrastructure backed by a
sound fault finding and repair system as well as
adequate spares inventory. India is heavily dependent on sea-borne trade, as
90 percent of its total trade by volume is
transported through waterways. It also has to
keep track of its vast Economic Exclusive Zone
(EEZ), slated to go up to 2.54 million sq km from
the present two million sq km, apart from off- shore oil and gas assets. BEL chairman and managing director Anil Kumar,
who delivered the keynote address at the
seminar, said his organisation was proud to
partner the Indian Navy’s blue water aspirations. “Three new SBUs for missiles, satellites and
communication systems have been set up. Coastal
Surveillance System project by BEL has already
been commissioned in Kerala, Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Andhra. BEL is also involved in
setting up similar infrastructure at Mauritius and the Seychelles. Product support Centre for NPOL,
Cochin Shipyard and Naval Ship Repair Yard Kochi
is already functioning from here,” said Kumar. Blue-water navy refers to a maritime force
capable of sustained operation across open
oceans, project power from the home country
and usually includes one or more aircraft carriers. The Indian Navy is bolstering its blue water
capabilities, strategically positioning itself to
realise the country’s stated aspiration to
command a dominant role in the Indian Ocean. Vice Admiral Soni later opened an exhibition
showcasing various BEL products such as
communication equipment, night vision devices,
modern commando information systems and
other electronics intensive hardware.

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[President]

Admiral Soni- please first get the government to saction R&D money for basic research across the country in NIT/ REC and above institutions, scholarships for students who show innovation skills, program managers who are non-corrupt and result oriented to get things done appointed.

Navy/ Army/ Airforce should collaborate in Private Public programs to develop strategic components and hardware, not just be dependent on DRDO and other national institutes..use "saam, daam, dand, bhed.." to make sure they get each product reverse engineered or modified or upgraded whatever they need to do to reduce imports as well.