Aatmanirbharta by 2047

Smruti Deshpande

Ahead of the press conference at the majestic Kota House in December, the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Hari Kumar received the 1,500-km ‘35 day, 35 marathons’ running expedition, which was flagged off on October 30 from Delhi. The expedition through Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh was undertaken by marathon and ultra-marathon runners of the navy to foster maritime consciousness among the youth. After the flag-in, Admiral Kumar said the marathon also sought to promote the Agnipath scheme. Badminton player P.V. Sindhu was in attendance at the event.

In the press conference which followed, the Navy Chief recounted the events in the past year since he took charge as the navy’s top man. He said, “Operationally, we have had a very intense, engaging time over the last one year. Ships and submarines have been deployed extensively and they have contributed substantially to maintaining maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.”

He said a very high operational tempo was achieved over the last one year and that the navy followed mission-based deployments with ships being deployed at various strategic locations in the ocean so that they are forward based and ready to respond to challenges. He added that this extensive operational deployment helped the force in numerous ways. “It has helped us to hone our skills and improve and refine our procedures and processes and, in a sense, to keep the sword sharp,” he said.

Admiral Kumar termed the past year as ‘operationally busy, satisfying and transformation