The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, at the end of a gallantry award ceremony, announced that during the next 10-15 years, around 160 warships and 300 aircrafts would be inducted into the Indian Navy to meet the emerging challenges in costal security as well as to guard India’s increasing maritime interests. He confirmed that aircraft carrier under construction at Cochin shipyard would be inducted by 2016 into the Eastern Naval Command (ENC). Three Shivalik-class frigates would also join the ENC in the near future. The Naval Chief stated that to fulfill the requirements of skilled staff to man these ships, a new Naval Academy being set up in Kerala would start functioning from June 20091.

• 1. “Navy gearing up to meet coastal security challenges,” The Hindu, March 29, 2009, p. 18.