Why Navy Day on December 4?

Indian Navy Day is celebrated every year on December 4 to commemorate the attack on the Karachi harbour during the India-Pakistan war in 1971.
On this day, the Indian Navy's attack on Karachi harbour contributed to the ultimate victory of the Indian Armed Forces over Pakistan

Motto of Indian Navy

Motto शं नो वरुणः "Shanno Varuna " May Lord Varuna be peaceful to each one of you

December 2023

Navy Unveils New Admirals' Epaulettes Inspired By Chatrapati Shivaji

Revitalising its strengths

The Indian Navy has been actively revitalising its sailing traditions, showcasing its commitment to maritime heritage and seamanship through initiatives like the training ships INS Tarangini and INS Sudarshini, along with circumnavigation missions on INSVs Mhadei and Tarini.

2nd Edition of Navika Sagar Parikrama - Lt. Cdr Dilna and Roopa

Increasing capabilities

The Indian Ocean is generally touted as the Indian Navy's ‘backyard’.

Track Record

Our deployment

In 2023 and 2024, deployments of over 80 ships and submarines at more than 50 foreign ports.
From 2011 to 2021, the Indian Navy visited nearly 72 foreign countries

Port calls by foreign navies

total of 248 ports of call by foreign navies to different ports across the country.

INS Shivalik

INS Shivalik - reached Pearl Harbour in Hawaii to take part in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise – the world’s largest naval exercise with 29 countries participating in the current edition.
the Warship also participated in bilateral exercise with Japan – JIMEX (Japan India Maritime Exercise).

Naval Cooperation

Naval cooperation carried out by India currently includes partners such as Tanzania, Japan, Indonesia and Mozambique,
Strategic naval cooperation with bigger countries such as the US, Russia and France has also deepened.

Initiatives

the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative announced by the QUAD in 2022
'Neighbourhood First’
‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) initiative

Training foreign naval officers

Saudi Arabia’s Royal Saudi Naval Forces are trained in Kochi
Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and Myanmar
Indian Navy has established naval training teams in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

CORPATs

Coordinated Patrols (CORPATs) with different countries
Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Seychelles and Mozambique.
crucial role in safeguarding the large and unmonitored Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of island nations

First Responder in crisis

after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in 2008.
In December 2014, a desalination plant which provided drinking water to Maldives, was damaged in fire. INS Sukanya, which was on patrol off the coast of Kochi, was diverted to Male immediately with 35 tonnes of fresh water. It reached Male the next day.

New reach out plans

important powers located in the northern and western part of the continent (Africa) such as Egypt and Nigeria.
In 2022, it sent one of its ships on a port visit to Gabon in Central Africa too.
The Navy is also deploying warships to the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean.

Gifts to friendly nations

In the last decade, approximately 20 ships and craft, which include
- OPVs,
- Fast Attack Crafts,
- Fast Interceptor Boats,
- INS Kirpan and
- INS Sindhuvir, have been gifted to various countries in the IOR.
leased out INS Sindhuvir, which has been in service with the Indian Navy since 1988, to Myanmar in October 2020.
Six ships from foreign countries have undergone repairs and refit assistance in India in the last two years

White shipping information exchange

sharing of maritime data
This helps neighbouring countries fill their surveillance gaps

Preferred Security Partner status

The highly subscribed positions for International Liaison Officer at India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram.
appointment of Indian Naval officers to the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar
indicate acceptance and legitimacy to Indian Navy’s aspiration of being the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the IOR Print

Indian Ocean Ship Sagar initiative - INS Suhanya

Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar initiative, in which INS Sunayna embarked with 44 crew members from nine Indian Ocean Region nations for a month-long deployment beginning in April.

The mission included port calls at five locations and aimed to expand cooperation, training, and interoperability among regional maritime forces.

Africa India Key Maritime Engagement, Samanvaya

Another initiative, the Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement, known as “Samanvaya” (meaning unity in Sanskrit), was conducted in partnership with nine African nations.

The program concluded in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and included joint exercises and exchanges. India’s defense minister and his Tanzanian counterpart attended the event. Interesting Engineering

September 2024

India is turning Bay of Bengal into SSBN bastion

The ongoing construction of a submarine base (Project Varsha) in the Bay of Bengal. The future induction of K 5 longer range missiles Advances in anti submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities of India Chinese increasing oceanographic research for submarine operations in the Indian Ocean region Commissioning of INS Arighaat, India's second indigenous nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine Print

October 2024

4th nuclear missile submarine, S4

India launches 4th nuclear-missile submarine.
The fourth SSBN, codenamed S4, was launched on October 16

November 2024

K-4 Ballistic missile testing from INS Arighaat (newly inducted nuclear submarine)

The Indian Navy yesterday carried out the test firing of the 3,500 km range K-4 ballistic missile from the newly-inducted nuclear submarine INS Arighaat. The test results are being analysed.
The development confirmed the full integration of missile, submarine, and command and control systems.

Strategic attention shift

For most of India's post-independence history, strategic attention has been focused on the Western Frontiers.
The Eastern Frontiers, in comparison, have been treated with less urgency.
The Bay of Bengal has been mostly viewed through a commercial lens rather than a strategic one.
It was in 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, or India-Pakistan War that the presence of USS Enterprise in the Bay of Bengal exposed the critical strategic vulnerability of India at the decisive moment of the war.
The Chinese started to see the strategic importance of the Bay of Bengal, which resulted in sending Chinese naval survey vessels, intelligence gathering ships, and submarines in increasing frequency.
A French maritime intelligence firm, UnseenLabs, reported a Chinese research vessel operating in the Bay of Bengal near the Indian waters, while attempting to conceal its presence by disabling its automatic identification system (AIS).
China's People's Liberation Army Navy ships conducted activities under the names like Peace and Friendship 2025. Though these exercises are not labeled in the Bay of Bengal, their proximity is telling of an China's increasing interest close to India's eastern maritime space. Print

January 2025

3 frontline naval combatants commissioned

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated three frontline naval combatants — two warships and a submarine — to the nation.

The Made-in-India naval combatants – INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer – were commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. X

February 2025

Deal for 3 Scorpene submarines from France

Bharat - France The Indian Navy has finalised an over Rs 36,000 crores deal with state-run Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL - France) to procure three additional Scorpene submarines.

This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France for the Artificial Intelligence Summit, this week.

the new additiona Anushka Sharma l Scorpene will come with 60 percent indigenous content, which is nearly twice of the six Scorpene submarines built by the MDL in collaboration with French firm Naval Group.

Besides the conventional diesel-electric submarines, the Indian Navy plans to commission its first fully indigenously designed nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) by 2036-37 and the second one in about two years from then.

India has a separate programme for nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), their funding is through a separate system and they operate under the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). Print

March 2025

INS Tavasya launched into waters

The last of the four follow-on Krivak-class stealth frigates contracted from Russia and the second one under construction at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) with technology transfer, Tavasya, was launched into the water.

June 2025

INS Tamal to be commissioned on July 1

The latest stealth multi role frigate
125 metre long and 3,900 tonne with 26% indigenous components including BrahMos
Last warship of the Indian Navy to have been built outside India
In lines with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make In India policies
A part of the Tushil class, building 2 similar frigates in India called Triput Class, with transfer of technology and design assistance from Russia
This will join the Sword Arm of the Indian Navy - The WESTERN Fleet.

Nuclear-tipped missiles than its two predecessor

Expanded configuration allows it to accommodate additional K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, with a reported range of approximately 3,500 kilometers (2,174 miles).
It will carry a complement of around 95 personnel.
The submarine will be equipped with USHUS and Panchendriya sonar suites, advanced systems that provide surveillance, targeting, and underwater communications.

SSBNs advantage

SSBNs are considered the most survivable leg of that structure because their stealth and endurance allow them to remain hidden for extended periods

Long term goal of a credible nuclear triad

The addition of Aridhaman marks another step in India’s long-term goal of fielding a credible nuclear triad, the ability to deliver nuclear weapons from land, air, and sea.

A fourth SSBN is under construction.

Both Aridhaman and the upcoming fourth submarine are larger than Arihant-class vessels, offering greater missile storage capacity and improved survivability.

Need of the hour for Strait of Malacca

India’s expanding ballistic missile submarine fleet also carries strategic implications for the Strait of Malacca, the narrow maritime chokepoint through which more than 60 percent of China’s seaborne trade and nearly 80 percent of its oil imports transit. Interesting Engineering

November 2025

INS Taragiri

The Indian Navy took delivery of Taragiri, the fourth ship of the advanced Nilgiri class frigates under Project 17A.
Taragiri carries forward the legacy of the original INS Taragiri, a Leander-class frigate that served the Indian Navy with distinction for 33 years until its decommissioning in 2013.
Its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities include torpedoes and rocket launchers.
The ship is powered by a modern Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion system with Controllable Pitch Propellers and controlled through an advanced Integrated Platform Management System.
The build time was compressed to 81 months, compared to 93 months for the lead ship Nilgiri.

Project 17A

The P17A warships form part of the 30+ warships that the Indian Navy will commission over the next two years, to grow into an over 165-warship navy by the end of 2027.
Project 17A is among the Navy’s most ambitious indigenous shipbuilding programmes, aimed at producing cutting-edge multi-mission frigates capable of countering a spectrum of maritime threats. Defence capital