Indian Navy will no longer be just net-enabled navy. It is gradually moving towards being a net-centric navy. This was announced by Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Naval Staff and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, while inaugurating the two-day seminar, NAVSIS 08 — the Naval Symposium on Information Systems in New Delhi. “Today, many of our core processes are enabled by Information

Technology (IT). The next step is to cross the threshold of being a net-enabled navy to a net-centric navy with an inclusive approach to synergise naval assets and graduate to ‘Effects-based Operations’.”

The navy hopes to achieve the net-centricity by 2015. “Based on our perception of future warfare trends, we have also articulated a doctrine for Network Centric Operations, with both policy and organisational reorientation required to cater to this new paradigm,” he said.

Earlier, Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman, CII National Committee on IT/ITES and E-commerce and Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems, said that the ongoing IT drive initiative by the Indian Navy would not only enhance its combat capabilities but also revolutionise the communication systems. “The navies world over are increasingly relying on IT as a tool to increase combat capabilities in contemporary warfare. IT is being viewed as an effective ‘force multiplier’. In times when Indian Navy faces a need to fulfil its tasks with decreased resources and reduced manpower, this role has acquired even more importance.”

Admiral Mehta too agreed with him, “With global reach and interconnectivity, Information Technology today, has revolutionalised the way in which enterprises the world over are conducting their business and operations. This technology has the potential for providing decisive advantages in conduct and management of military operations during war and peace.”

Admiral Mehta also stressed on the need for coming together of the Indian defence forces and IT industry. “The Indian Navy is fully committed to taking advantage of the ‘Information Age’ concepts and technologies. As a technology-intensive force, we would always like to keep abreast with the latest technologies and best practices in the fast changing IT world.”
He said that Indian industry could help complement the navy’s IT needs by providing a good mix of security policy and up-to-date technology. “For the navy to benefit from the tremendous strides made in the IT industry worldwide and especially in India, the key is to exploit commercially available Information Technology with added layers of security.” He mentioned that this was the best opportunity for the Indian industry as the navy was already implementing a number of projects that incorporate latest concepts and technology.

Ashok Kanodia, Chairman, CII Defence Sub Committee on IT and Communication, and Managing Director of Precision Electronics Ltd, added, “There are immense possibilities, particularly in the IT sector, that have so far been unexplored. It is up to the industry to tap the unrealised potential that the Indian defence sector offers.”

Speaking about the role of IT in Indian Navy, Chowdhry elaborated, “The Indian Navy has in place a state-of-art data network connected up to the field units. Warships at sea are now being linked to this network. This network is based on the latest IT concepts with enough security overlays and is meant to handle futuristic trends in communication. Apart from this, various access network technologies particularly the satellite communication are being used for credible real time data linkage and communication within the Indian Navy.”

The two-day seminar, jointly organised by CII and the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), deliberated on issues such as next generation networks, network-centric operations, open source systems and SAAS, identity management, access control and surveillance, trends in IT training, green computing, public domain for private use, ERP, enterprise information security management and encryption/PKI and Steganography. Admiral Mehta also released a technical journal and inaugurated an exhibition on information systems.