A busy navy´s challenges

Source: The post is based on an article “A busy navy´s challenges” published in Business Standard on 24th December 2022. 

Syllabus: GS 3 – Security.

Relevance: Challenges with the Indian Navy.

News: The Indian Navy has been expanding its fleet day by day. Despite this, challenges still exist for the Indian Navy. 

What are the challenges associated with the Indian Navy? 

Delay in construction: Ships required for the Indian Navy take more than twice the time of China which is around seven to nine years. Even after taking such a long time, required support such as the right long-range, air-defence missiles, heavyweight torpedoes, etc. remain missing. 

Inadequate number of ships: 2019 and 2020 saw the commissioning of just one submarine and a corvette while 2018 saw no major addition to the fleet. Further, as per a report, no aircraft has landed on either of India’s carriers in the last two years. 

Technological delay creating challenges: China uses advanced technology in its ships with more fuel and a heavier weapons load. China is now planning for war on the sea with killer drones and unmanned vessels. It is also developing a naval base around the Indian Ocean rim. 

Limited defence budgets: India has limited budgets for its defence due to which there are fewer orders given for the construction of ships. This ultimately hampers the Navy fleet. The Indian Navy mostly has old boats, and it requires changes with the new ones. 

Therefore, there are multiple challenges with the Indian Navy, even though its fleet is expanding, and new additions are being made.