Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said the India Navy aims to operate more than 200 vessels by 2035, up from about 145 today, according to a report by The Economic Times.

All 52 ships currently on order are being built in Indian shipyards, reflecting what he called a growing “sovereign capability” in maritime defense.

Beyond building platforms, the service aims to localize component manufacturing and achieve full self-sufficiency by 2047, when India targets becoming a developed nation under its “Viksit Bharat” vision.

Tripathi added that defense strength today depends as much on technology and industry as on weapons systems. “Semiconductors can be as decisive as submarines,” he said, emphasizing the importance of secure information networks alongside traditional maritime power.

He also underscored that India’s defense partnerships would be guided by shared principles, not convenience, and highlighted the navy’s “MAHASAGAR” vision, or the Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, which promotes cooperation through patrols, joint exercises, and humanitarian missions.

Push for Defense Self-Reliance

Launched in 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative has become the foundation of India’s defense industrial strategy, encouraging local manufacturing and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.

Government figures show defense production has more than tripled in the past decade, exceeding 1.5 trillion rupees ($17 billion) in 2024.

The Indian Navy has been a leading force in this effort. Recent milestones include the commissioning of INS Vikrant, the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier. Other shipyards in Mumbai, Kolkata, and Visakhapatnam are building destroyers, frigates, and submarines under the Make in India framework.

Public-sector companies such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Garden Reach Shipbuilders have expanded production capacity, while private firms like Larsen & Toubro are advancing modular shipbuilding and submarine technologies.

The navy is also developing indigenous unmanned vessels and exploring homegrown propulsion and combat management systems.