Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets top naval commanders, reviews security preparedness

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, Navy Chief-designate Vice Admiral Karambir Singh and Director General Coast Guard Rajendra Singh were present at the conference.

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed top naval commanders on the opening day of the first edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference which kicked-off on Tuesday. Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, Navy Chief-designate Vice Admiral Karambir Singh and Director General Coast Guard Rajendra Singh were present at the event.

Sitharaman reviewed the preparedness of the security challenges faced by the country in the backdrop of the Pulwama attack and developments thereafter at the conference.

"Naval Cdrs Conference. @DefenceMinIndia urges Navy to lead the Military in  capturing the 'Spirit of Indigenisation'. RM appreciated Navy's efforts in IOR/ Indo -Pacific, in Mil Diplomacy, in HADR among others. RM commended Navy's abilty to swiftly transit from trg to ops mode," tweeted the Defence Spokesperson.

Naval Cdrs Conference. @DefenceMinIndia urges Navy to lead the Military in capturing the 'Spirit of Indigenisation'. RM appreciated Navy's efforts in IOR/ Indo -Pacific, in Mil Diplomacy, in HADR among others. RM commended Navy's abilty to swiftly transit from trg to ops mode pic.twitter.com/gtfupNHS53 — Defence Spokesperson (@SpokespersonMoD) April 23, 2019

Smt @nsitharaman addresses the officers of the Indian Navy at the Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/bsUDu79v78 — Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) April 23, 2019

Smt @nsitharaman interacts with the officers of Indian Navy at the Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. Indian Navy Chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba is also present. pic.twitter.com/U9HfTeNmKY

— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) April 23, 2019

The three-day event will witness naval commanders fine-tuning Indian Navy's strategy for responding to any possible threats, analyse the operational environment, deliberate on Tri-Service synergy and discuss emerging challenges in the maritime domain in the evolving geo-strategic environment.

"The conference assumes greater significance in the backdrop of Pulwama associated events that have brought the country's defence under sharper focus and will provide the higher naval leadership a forum to discuss the emerging challenges in the maritime domain," the Navy said in a statement.

During the conference, Naval Commanders will also hold discussions with senior government officials.

The conference is the apex forum within the Navy for interaction between the naval commanders. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba will review major operational, material, logistics, training, human resources and administrative issues at the conference.

Themes like the functional reorganisation of Indian Navy towards improving operational efficiency and optimal manning will form the core of discussions towards finalising long term road map for the force, the Navy said.

Discussions around the acquisition of new capabilities, harnessing niche technologies like big data analytics and artificial intelligence for solutions in the domains of naval combat, the convergence of networks, logistics and administration, will also take place at the three-day conference.