A nuclear power, India as a nation on the move has plenty to safeguard, particularly when it comes to national security. With rising border disputes and global diplomatic pressures alike it's natural to maintain a balancing act between diplomacy and national interests - a tight ropewalk indeed.

When it comes to national security, one of the primary factors would be to protect our shores, more so our coastal belt. Arguably, the strongest arm of the triad lies in the sea. In this regard, India with all her Naval might is under tremendous pressure to maintain the same. Traditionally not known to be a world power in sea, we have been heavily dependent on friendly nations for vessels/arsenals and to an extent a 'friendly' US as well - balancing act maintained to perfection!

But with recent developments on indigenous naval frigates and destroyers, India is heading in the right direction. Perhaps a move which could have come much earlier, lest we should say better late than never! One of the most significant of these developments would be witnessed at the docks of Kochi Shipyard in Kerala, which will start building an indigenous aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy, a no mean task considering the fact that there are only a handful who have successfully built carriers. But with a minimum of 8-10 years required for its completion, a serious question mark arises. Can the Navy manage to guard our huge coastal belt with just one carrier and that too a carrier which is as old as the Navy itself or perhaps even older?

INS Viraat, the only carrier in service right now, was commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1987 after the Royal Navy sold it to India. Earlier HMS Hermes, the ship has been the Indian Navy's mainstay ever since INS Vikrant was converted into a museum. Again considering the age limit, the carrier underwent an extensive refit in 1999 at the Kochi docks, which increased its life span to another 10 years. Even if the new carrier arrives by 2010 it would be a Herculean task to induct it into action right away. The alternative solution - procure another vessel.

In comes the carrier Gorshkov, the Russian beauty! The purchase of Admiral Gorshkov has been a matter of great concern. The Navy is keen on the acquisition of the carrier. With this it will not only bolster its presence by having two carriers on both its coastal flanks but also be able to pass on the skills required to handle an aircraft carrier once Viraat's guard comes to an end so that there is not time gap, if any, which would be costly. One should remember that in times of emergency, carriers play pivotal roles in guarding the line of defense.

As always, something has to go wrong in a Defence deal. The ship requires extensive overhaul before it can be made operational. Though Russia has offered the ship free of cost, a whopping sum has to be spent to refit it. This is one aspect which had delayed the acquisition of the much-needed carrier. With intense price negotiations going on and as both countries haggle over this issue, Gorshkov still moves at a rather slow pace towards our shores.

Carriers apart, the Navy has been really impressive in its stride towards modernising the fleet. With Navy entering the stealth warfare era, it has shown great commitment for being self-reliant. The induction of the stealth class frigates namely INS Talwar, INS Trishul and INS Tabar has strengthened its superiority over immediate rivals.

Another striking project is the magnificent "Project 17 stealth frigate" at the Mazagon Docks Ltd in Mumbai wherein the first ship is likely to be commissioned in 2006.

Finally, with production of the Delhi class destroyers and the indigenous air defense ship along with the construction of six Scorpene class submarines with French technology, Indian Navy is set to sail stealth and smooth.