OPINION | A Maritime Power Requires a Maritime Fleet

by Ashu Mann

India has set itself an ambitious goal: to become a developed nation, Viksit Bharat, by 2047, the centenary of independence. Much of the national conversation around this goal focuses on manufacturing, infrastructure, and digital transformation. Yet history offers a consistent and often overlooked lesson: no nation has sustained global or even regional influence commensurate with its economic weight without also possessing a navy capable of projecting that weight across the seas.

From the maritime republics of the Mediterranean to the great trading empires of the modern era, economic ascendancy and naval capability have moved together, rather than in sequence. Nations that grew wealthy through trade found that protecting the sea lanes carrying that trade required a navy equal to the task, while nations that built such navies found their economic reach extending even further. The relationship is genuinely two-directional: naval power protects economic interests, while economic strength makes a serious navy affordable and sustainable in the first place.

The Maritime Foundations of Global Influence

Global influence has rarely been built through landlocked strength alone. It is built through sea lanes kept open, allies reassured by a visible naval presence, and the ability to move goods, energy, and people across oceans without depending on the goodwill of others. As India's economy continues to grow and its interests extend across the Indo-Pacific and beyond, this maritime foundation becomes not a supplementary aspect of national power, but one of its central pillars.

Indigenous Shipbuilding as an Industrial Multiplier

There is also a domestic dividend to naval investment that is often underappreciated. Building ships, from destroyers to carriers, at home rather than importing them creates a demanding, high-precision industrial ecosystem encompassing shipyards, steel production, propulsion systems, electronics, and a skilled workforce trained to the exacting standards that naval construction requires. Programs such as the indigenous aircraft carrier have already demonstrated that India possesses the industrial base to design and build a warship of the most demanding class. Each such project also strengthens the wider manufacturing base in ways that ripple outward into the civilian economy.

Carrier Battle Groups as the Backbone of Blue-Water Capability

At the center of any serious blue-water navy sits the carrier battle group: the aircraft carrier itself, together with the escorts, submarines, and support vessels that allow it to operate safely and effectively far from home shores. This is the configuration that transforms a coastal defense force into a navy capable of shaping events across an ocean. It is also why the major maritime powers of the twenty-first century, without exception, have organized their fleets around this concept. For India, building toward a multi-carrier navy is not an exercise in prestige. It is the structural foundation on which genuine blue-water reach is built.

A Vision for the Indian Navy in 2047

By the time India marks a century of independence, the vision articulated by naval planners and strategic thinkers is of a navy that matches the country's economic scale and diplomatic ambition: a fleet built predominantly at home, anchored by multiple carrier battle groups, backed by a deep bench of destroyers, frigates, and submarines sufficient to sustain a continuous presence across the Indian Ocean Region, and capable of projecting Indian influence and providing security to partners from the Gulf to Southeast Asia.

This is an achievable vision, grounded in the trajectory that India's navy and shipbuilding industry have already demonstrated. What it requires now is sustained investment and the recognition, shared across government and industry, that a nation aspiring to be a leading power cannot delegate the security of its seas to others. A maritime power, in the fullest sense of the term, requires a maritime fleet, and building that fleet is one of the defining tasks facing India on its journey toward 2047.

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About the Author

Ashu Mann is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. He was awarded the Vice Chief of the Army Staff Commendation card on Army Day 2025. He is pursuing a PhD from Amity University, Noida, in Defence and Strategic Studies. His research focuses include the India-China territorial dispute, great power rivalry, and Chinese foreign policy.

Disclaimer: This article represents the author’s independent analysis and perspective based on publicly available information. It does not constitute official guidance, intelligence assessment, or policy recommendation, and does not reflect the positions of Access Hub or any affiliated entities.