Navy To Add 20% More Men To Its Ranks

[ROUDRAM]

[size=4]Given its increasing security responsibility in the region, the Indian Navy is set to augment its personnel levels by almost a quarter over the next few years by inducting technically qualified men and officers even as efforts are on to increase military infrastructure in the Andaman islands by upgrading three forward operating bases.[/size]


[size=4]While the 50,000-plus Navy is suffering from an officer shortage of about 8 per cent, discussions at the recently concluded Naval Commanders Conference revolved around the requirement of qualified personnel over the next few years as a series of high-end platforms, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and new warships are being inducted.[/size]

[size=4]Sources said the Navy requires between 20-25 per cent more personnel over the next few years to safeguard the nation’s coastline and carry out its mandate as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). While there is no dearth of applicants, the Navy will struggle to attract talent as it requires highly technically qualified personnel to fill vacancies. All new officers of the Navy, for example, are required to hold an engineers degree.[/size]


[size=4]“The Navy Chief told the naval commanders (at the conference) that the primary challenge that was confronting the Navy was to balance its resources and building human capital and a requisite strategy so as to be responsive to the full spectrum of operations,” a Navy officer said.[/size]

[size=4]The Navy’s aviation arm is growing at an exponential rate with the first lot of MiG 29 K aircraft for the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier inducted this year. The fleet of P8I maritime patrol aircraft, the first of which underwent a test flight last month, will be inducted in 2013.[/size]

[size=4]Another reason for the required increase in force levels is the shoring up of infrastructure in the island chains to give the Navy a larger footprint. While Karwar (Karnataka) is being developed as a major base, the Navy is fast moving to upgrade three bases in the Andaman islands to support warship operations.[/size]

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