Vice Admiral Sanjay Sadhu, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition, on Tuesday said the Indian Navy will need many more advanced warships to guarantee free navigation and the uninterrupted flow of India's energy supplies and essential commodities. He was speaking at the launch of the Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV) 'Shruti' at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd in Kolkata.

Shruti's Launch and Indigenous Content

The NGOPV Shruti marks a significant milestone for domestic defence manufacturing. Vice Admiral Sadhu noted that the vessel will carry 85 per cent indigenous content upon completion, calling the launch a celebration of 'the capability of our shipyards to build advanced warships.'

The Navy currently has 44 platforms on order, all of which are being constructed by Indian shipyards — a development the Vice Admiral described as 'speaking volumes on Atmanirbharta' that the government is actively promoting.

Regional Security and Energy Supply Lanes

'Given the situation in the region, such as the US-Iran war, which has had an impact on vital chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy is playing a key role in protecting our sea lanes and ensuring the supply of India's energy requirements and other essential commodities,' Sadhu said. He added that versatile vessels like the NGOPV Shruti would be central to protecting the country's maritime borders while carrying out multiple operational roles.

This comes amid heightened global attention on energy transit routes, with the Strait of Hormuz — through which a significant share of India's crude oil imports pass — facing periodic disruption risks tied to West Asian tensions.

India's Shipbuilding Ambitions by 2047

Beyond immediate security concerns, Vice Admiral Sadhu outlined the government's broader maritime industrial vision. The Centre plans to position India as a global shipbuilding hub, with a target for Indian yards to account for 5 per cent of global ship construction by 2035. Additionally, at least 50 per cent of India's commercial fleet is to be indigenously built by that year.

The government has earmarked ₹70,000 crore towards this initiative. The longer-term ambition is for India to rank 5th among global shipbuilding nations by 2047 — a goal Sadhu described as 'achievable' but contingent on sustained effort from the entire workforce and industry stakeholders. He addressed workers and supervisors directly, switching to Hindi to reach a wider audience at the shipyard.

Call to Industry

Sadhu urged all stakeholders in the shipbuilding sector to prioritise top-quality construction, both for naval and commercial customers. 'India is a true maritime nation with such a long coastline,' he said, underscoring that the country's strategic and economic interests are deeply tied to its maritime capability. With GRSE delivering the Shruti as part of a broader naval expansion drive, the shipyard is expected to remain central to the Navy's indigenisation roadmap in the years ahead.