New Delhi, Dec 22 (IANS) A ‘sea change’ has occurred in India’s coastal security in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday.
Addressing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative panel of his ministry said the ‘government was making all out efforts to ensure security of the coastal regions of the country’
‘There has been a sea change in the government’s approach to coastal security after this tragic incident (Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai attack),’ he said.
The minister said the government was giving top priority to modernization of shipyards ‘so that state-of-the-art warships can be built indigenously to global standards’.
‘In future, all vessels of the Indian Navy will be built indigenously and the private sector will play a crucial role in this endeavor,’ said Antony.
He listed out the policy initiatives on shipyards and ship- building for the armed forces and said to be comparable with the best global shipyards, ‘we must keep a high premium on the quality of the delivered products.
‘Our market share in global shipbuilding must be improved substantially on a priority basis. Our shipyards have no option but to build state-of-the-art infrastructure for constructing high technology warships and submarines.’
