VISAKHAPATNAM, OCT 5: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has projected India’s expanding naval strength as a key pillar of the country’s strategic rise, highlighting the Indian Navy’s growing combat capability, indigenous warship-building capacity and increasingly important role in securing India’s maritime interests across the Indo-Pacific.
Addressing naval personnel and their families at a Barakhana organised by the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, Singh said the Indian Navy has emerged as a powerful maritime force capable of responding decisively to security challenges while operating across a demanding and rapidly changing strategic environment.
The Defence Minister praised naval personnel for remaining steadfast in all operational conditions and safeguarding India’s maritime boundaries. He said the Navy’s growing presence across the Indo-Pacific reflects the professionalism, courage and commitment of its personnel and their determination to uphold the honour of the national flag at sea.
Recalling the Navy’s combat legacy, Singh referred to its decisive contribution during the 1971 War, particularly Operation Trident, when Indian naval forces struck Karachi harbour. He said the operation demonstrated that India’s maritime force was capable not only of protecting its waters but also of projecting power and conducting offensive operations when required.
The reference to Operation Trident underscored the transformation of the Navy from a force focused primarily on coastal and maritime defence into an increasingly capable instrument of strategic deterrence and power projection.
Singh placed particular emphasis on India’s growing indigenous defence-industrial capability, pointing to the development and induction of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, stealth frigates and Scorpène-class submarines as evidence of the country’s expanding technological and manufacturing base.
The Defence Minister stressed that naval power cannot be measured only through the size of a fleet or the sophistication of its platforms. According to him, the decisive strength of the Indian Navy rests on the professionalism, patriotism, discipline, courage and operational commitment of its personnel.
The emphasis on indigenous capability assumes added significance as India accelerates its domestic warship-building programme. On October 6, Singh is scheduled to launch the Navy’s first 43,500-tonne Fleet Support Ship, lay the keel for the fifth vessel in the series and inaugurate upgraded infrastructure at Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam. The new Fleet Support Ships are designed to replenish warships at sea and extend the Navy’s operational endurance and reach across the Indian Ocean Region.
Singh called for a wider national maritime vision, arguing that the oceans must be viewed not merely as boundaries that require protection but also as an important source of economic growth, prosperity and strategic power.
His message effectively linked naval expansion with India’s broader economic and geopolitical ambitions. Secure sea lanes, maritime trade routes and energy supplies are critical to the country’s economic interests, making a strong naval presence an essential component of long-term national security.
The Defence Minister urged the country to advance with a philosophy of moving “from the seas towards prosperity and power”, reflecting the growing strategic importance being attached to the maritime domain.
India’s maritime security role has assumed greater importance amid an increasingly complex Indo-Pacific security environment. In an earlier address in Visakhapatnam, Singh described India as a major stakeholder in the Indian Ocean Region and stressed the importance of safeguarding maritime routes and national interests in the region.
The latest remarks reinforce that strategic outlook, with the Navy increasingly positioned as a force capable of protecting maritime interests, supporting regional stability and contributing to India’s wider strategic influence.
Singh also paid tribute to the families of naval personnel, emphasising that the sacrifices associated with military service extend beyond those wearing the uniform.
While sailors remain deployed at sea for prolonged periods, their families shoulder responsibilities at home and provide the support that enables personnel to remain focused on operational duties. Singh described the service of naval personnel and the sacrifices of their families as a valuable national asset.
The Barakhana, he said, represented more than an informal gathering. It symbolised the fraternity, camaraderie and sense of belonging binding the armed forces, their families and the national leadership.
The Defence Minister’s address comes at a time when India’s naval modernisation is increasingly being driven by indigenous design, domestic shipbuilding and the expansion of sophisticated combat and support platforms. The recent induction of INS Mahendragiri, an indigenously built Project 17A stealth frigate, was another milestone in this trajectory.
Taken together, Singh’s remarks and the ongoing shipbuilding programme underline a broader strategic shift: India is seeking not merely to defend its coastline, but to possess the capability, endurance and indigenous industrial base required to protect its interests across the wider maritime domain.
For the Indian Navy, the challenge ahead will be to combine advanced platforms and indigenous technology with highly trained personnel, sustained operational readiness and the ability to respond to increasingly complex threats. For India, the expanding maritime capability is emerging as an important component of both national security and the country’s ambition to exercise greater strategic influence in the Indo-Pacific.This version gives the story a more front-page strategic defence angle, especially by connecting Singh’s remarks with the 43,500-tonne Fleet Support Ship programme and India’s indigenous shipbuilding push.
