Vice-Admiral Suraj Berry, Navy’s Controller Personnel Services, speaks on the Republic Day Parade press preview in New Delhi on January 20, 2023. Photo: Special Arrangement
Navy Agniveers at present present process coaching may be part of the marching contingent on the Republic Day Parade (RDP) at Kartavya Path subsequent week. Also, the Navy will quickly have girls officers and girls sailors onboard warships with girls Agniveers prepared to be deployed onboard as soon as their coaching is full by end-March, in accordance to Navy officers.
Officials stated the proposal to have a small quantity of Navy Agniveers as part of the Naval contingent on the Republic Day Parade (RPD) is underneath energetic consideration and a last choice is awaited.
“Women are part of the Indian Navy and women have been inducted in the sailor ranks as well as officer ranks across branches. So ‘ nari shakti’ [women power] is currently deployed in all naval operations which cover surveillance at sea and related operations at sea,” stated Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, Navy’s Controller Personnel Services on Friday briefing the media on the Navy’s participation within the upcoming Republic Day Parade (RDP).
There are 271 girls among the many virtually 2,800 naval Agniveers present process coaching on the INS Chilka in Odisha. The four-month coaching programme would be accomplished by March 23, 2023. The Agniveers would then spend two weeks on a warship as part of a familiarisation course, following which they might get postings.
To start with, girls Agniveers would be deployed on massive warships like plane carriers and destroyers. Some adjustments in services onboard are being made to accommodate them which features a devoted mess facility with washrooms in proximity.
There may be up to 20-30 girls sailors in each ship and their deployment is likely throughout 8-9 capital warships, Vice Adm Berry stated. Women officers are already serving onboard warships and their numbers would enhance over time as separate services can be found, Navy officers had acknowledged earlier.
Naval contingent
At the Republic Day Parade (RDP), the Naval marching contingent of 144 younger sailors will be led by Lt Cdr Disha Amrith as Contingent Commander and Lt Ashwani Singh, SLt Valli Meena S, and SLt M Aditya as Platoon Commanders. This will be adopted by the Navy band of 80 musicians led by M Antony Raj, Master Chief Petty Officer (Musician Second Class), taking part in the Indian Navy Song ‘Jai Bharti’.
The Navy tableau for the RDP is in keeping with its theme of a combat-ready, credible, cohesive and future-proof power and the Tableau Commander is Lt Cdr Inderjeet Chauhan. “The tableau is designed with an aim to showcase the multi-dimensional capabilities of the Navy as well as highlight key indigenously designed and built inductions under ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’. The tableau also aims to highlight ‘ Nari Shakti’ in the Navy,” Lt Cdr Chauhan defined.
The ahead part of the tableau (on the tractor) will showcase a girl aircrew of the Dornier maritime patrol plane (flying overhead), highlighting an all-women crew of a surveillance sortie undertaken final 12 months. The essential part of the tableau (on the trailer) will illustrate the ‘Make in India’ initiatives of the Navy. At the rear part of the tableau, three fashions of the autonomous unmanned techniques being developed indigenously underneath IDEX-SPRINT Challenge would be displayed.
SPRINT stands for Supporting Pole-vaulting In R&D by Innovations for Defence Excellence (IdeX), Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC). It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in final July and the Navy goals to induct 75 new applied sciences by August 15, 2023.