'Not just a fighting force, but guardian of India's economy': Rajnath Singh hails Navy
At an official Navy commissioning event, the Ministry of Defence described the Indian Navy as not merely a fighting force but a "guardian of India's economic interests," citing its role during the recent West Asia conflict.
Under Operation Urja Suraksha, the Navy safely escorted 18 merchant vessels carrying essential cargo worth more than Rs 9,000 crore through the Strait of Hormuz and adjoining waters.
The Indo-Pacific region was highlighted as the central focus of India's current maritime strategy, with the Navy's role framed around India acting as a "net security provider" and trusted partner across the region.
The event also underscored India's push to expand indigenous shipbuilding capacity, with the stated goal of establishing the country as a global hub for shipbuilding and maritime defence.
"Net Security Provider" — SAGAR (2015) to MAHASAGAR (2025)
"Net security provider" describes India's self-assigned role of being the first responder to security and humanitarian needs in its maritime neighbourhood rather than merely defending its own coastline. This role was formally articulated through the SAGAR doctrine and has since been widened.
Key Details
- SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) was announced in March 2015 during the commissioning of an Offshore Patrol Vessel in Mauritius, focused on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR): safety of the mainland and island territories, deepening economic and security cooperation with IOR partners, and acting as first responder to natural disasters and crises.
- MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) was announced in March 2025, also from Mauritius, expanding the geographic scope from the IOR to the wider Global South and adding economic diplomacy, technological connectivity, and environmental cooperation to the security-first SAGAR framework.
- The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), launched in 2019, is a related multilateral framework built around seven pillars including maritime security, maritime ecology, and connectivity.
The Navy's framing as an economic guardian and net security provider is a direct extension of the SAGAR-to-MAHASAGAR doctrinal evolution — from regional first-responder to a broader-based Global South security and growth partner.
Maritime Escort Operations — Operation Sankalp (2019) and Operation Urja Suraksha (2026)
India has run distinct, named naval operations to protect merchant shipping through Gulf chokepoints during periods of regional tension, reflecting the operational meaning of "net security provider."
Key Details
- Operation Sankalp was launched in June 2019 to ensure safe transit of Indian-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman amid tanker-seizure incidents; between June 2019 and May 2021, around 20 Indian warships escorted over 200 Indian-flagged vessels carrying more than 21 million tonnes of cargo.
- Operation Urja Suraksha was initiated around March 2026 in response to the West Asia conflict, providing close-protection escort (rather than passive monitoring) to India-bound crude oil, LNG, and LPG tankers through the Strait of Hormuz using guided-missile destroyers and frigates.
- Roughly 60% of India's crude oil imports transit the Strait of Hormuz, making this chokepoint central to India's energy and economic security calculus.
Operation Urja Suraksha is cited as the direct evidence for the Navy's claimed role as "guardian of India's economy" — protecting energy shipping lines is framed as a core, non-military dimension of naval power.
Indigenous Shipbuilding — Project 17A (Nilgiri-class) and Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence
India's push to become a global shipbuilding hub is anchored in indigenous warship-construction programmes such as Project 17A, which exemplifies the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) approach to defence manufacturing.
Key Details
- Project 17A (Nilgiri-class) stealth guided-missile frigates are designed by the Navy's Warship Design Bureau and built simultaneously at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (Mumbai) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (Kolkata) — the first twin-shipyard construction of major Indian warships.
- The class has approximately 75% indigenous content and uses Integrated Modular Construction, a block-based assembly method; over 200 MSMEs have been involved, generating roughly 4,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.
- Six of the seven planned Project 17A frigates have been commissioned; the seventh, INS Vindhyagiri, remains under construction at GRSE.
The stated ambition to make India a "global maritime defence hub" is built on this indigenous frigate programme as a proof of concept for scaling up domestic warship exports and construction capacity.
- SAGAR doctrine announced: March 2015, Mauritius (commissioning of OPV Barracuda).
- MAHASAGAR vision announced: March 2025, Mauritius.
- Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): launched 2019, seven pillars.
- Operation Sankalp: launched June 2019; ~20 warships escorted 200+ vessels/21 million tonnes of cargo (2019-2021).
- Operation Urja Suraksha: launched around March 2026; escorted 18 merchant vessels carrying cargo worth over Rs 9,000 crore.
- ~60% of India's crude oil imports transit the Strait of Hormuz.
- Project 17A (Nilgiri-class): ~75% indigenous content, built by MDL and GRSE, 200+ MSMEs involved; six of seven frigates commissioned as of mid-2026.