The Indian Navy (IN; Hindi: भारतीय नौ सेना (Devanāgarī), Bhāratīya Nau Senā (Latin)) is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the navy. The Indian Navy is the fifth largest in the world.[4] It played an important role in India's victory in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.[5]
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The Indian Navy can trace its lineage back to the Honourable East India Company's Marine which was founded in 1612 to protect British merchant shipping in the region. In 1757 the East India Company established its rule over much of the Indian subcontinent, but it wasn't until 1830 that the colonial navy became known as Her Majesty's Indian Navy. In 1858, East India Company rule gave way to the British Raj which lasted until India became independent in 1947. When India became a republic in 1950, the Royal Indian Navy as it had been named since 1934 was renamed to Indian Navy. The 17th-century Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is considered as the 'Father of the Indian Navy'.[6][7][8]
The primary objective of the navy is to secure the nation's maritime borders, India also uses its navy to enhance its international relations through joint exercises, port visits and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief. In recent years, the Indian Navy has undergone rapid modernisation to replace its ageing equipment currently in service, this is often seen as part of "India's drive" to develop blue-water capabilities and enhance its position in the Indian Ocean region.[9][10]
As of 2015, the Indian Navy has a strength of 58,350 personnel and a large operational fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers, one amphibious transport dock, 9 Landing ship tanks, 10 destroyers, 14 frigates, one nuclear-powered attack submarine, 14 conventionally-powered attack submarines, 25 corvettes, 7 mine countermeasure vessels, 47 patrol vessels, 4 fleet tankers and various other auxiliary vessels.
