Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025

• 04 Dec 2025

Source: IE

Why in News?  

The Chief of the Naval Staff released the Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025 on India Navy Day, aligning it with India’s long-term strategic vision and maritime priorities.

Note: Indian Navy Day is celebrated on 4^th December every year to honor the efforts & role of the Indian Navy in Operation Trident conducted during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971. 

• Under Operation Trident, the Indian Navy launched a surprise attack on Karachi harbour, crippling the centre of Pakistan’s maritime operations. 
• It was carried out using three Vidyut-class missile boats INS Nipat, Nirghat and Veer supported by corvettes INS Kiltan, INS Katchall and the fleet tanker INS Poshak. 
• Indian Navy Day 2025 Theme: Combat Ready, Cohesive, Credible and Aatmanirbhar Force — safeguarding the seas for a Viksit, Samriddha Bharat. 

What is Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025? 

• About: The Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025 is the Navy’s apex guidance document that defines how India plans, prepares, and operates across the entire maritime conflict spectrum.  
  • It outlines the Navy’s strategic principles, roles, force employment, capability development, and its approach to emerging maritime challenges 
  • First issued in 2004 and updated in 2009 and 2015, the 2025 edition reflects major changes in India’s maritime environment and strategic outlook over the past decade. 
• Key Highlights of 2025 Edition:  Formally recognises “no-war, no-peace” as a distinct operational category, acknowledging the grey zone between peace and conflict as a critical space where contemporary maritime competition increasingly occurs. 
  • The doctrine prioritises jointness and interoperability among the three services to support theaterisation. 
  • Integrates lessons on grey-zone, hybrid, and irregular warfare, and multi-domain threats. 
  • The doctrine emphasises emerging domains like space, cyber, and cognitive warfare. 
  • Promotes adoption of uncrewed systems, autonomous platforms, and advanced technologies. 
• Significance: The doctrine promotes a maritime-conscious nation that recognises the strategic importance of the oceans and positions maritime power as a key pillar of Viksit Bharat 2047.  
  • It aligns with major national initiatives such as Sagarmala, PM Gati Shakti, Maritime India Vision 2030, Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 and MAHASAGAR, while reflecting India’s shift toward a more proactive maritime posture in the Indo-Pacific.  
  • The document also supports tri-service joint doctrines (Special Forces, Airborne/Heliborne and Multi-Domain Operations) to strengthen interoperability and integrated operations.  
  • It emphasises a coherent maritime strategy that supports economic growth, infrastructure expansion and blue economy development. 

History of the Indian Navy 

• Ancient Maritime Roots: India’s maritime tradition dates back over 4,000 years, with ancient civilisations like Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Lothal engaged in extensive sea trade with Africa, Arabia and Mesopotamia. 
  • By the 4th century BCE, India had advanced riverine and oceanic navigation; the word “navigation” comes from the Sanskrit Navagati. 
  • Indian traders, along with Hindu and Buddhist scholars, carried culture to Southeast Asia by the 1st century CE, shaping the region’s religious and cultural landscape. 
• Medieval Maritime Power: Medieval Indian powers, including the Cholas, Zamorins and Marathas (Magadh navy), developed strong naval forces.  
  • The Maratha Navy under Kanhoji Angre challenged European powers along India’s west coast. 
• European Naval Dominance: European arrival began with Vasco da Gama in 1498, introducing powerful blue-water navies (Portuguese, Dutch, British, French) that eventually dominated Indian waters. 
• Rise of the Modern Indian Navy: The modern Indian Navy traces its roots to the Royal Indian Navy (RIN), established during British rule.  
  • Following India's Republic status, the Navy dropped the "Royal" prefix and was renamed the Indian Navy. 
• Leadership and Motto: The Indian Navy is headed by the President of India, who serves as its Supreme Commander. 
  • Its motto is “Sam No Varunah”, meaning may the god of the waters, Varuna, be auspicious to us. 
• Role and Capabilities: Today, the Indian Navy is a multi-dimensional, blue-water force, focusing on maritime security, power projection, and safeguarding India’s interests across the Indo-Pacific. 
  • MARCOS (Marine Commandos) are the Navy’s elite special forces, trained for amphibious warfare, counter-terrorism, special reconnaissance, hostage rescue, and asymmetric operations. 
• Operations: The Navy expanded its capabilities post-independence, playing major roles in conflicts such as the 1961 liberation of Goa, 1971 Indo-Pak War (Operation Trident & Python) and modern maritime security operations. 

Drishti Mains Question: 

The Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025 marks a shift from a platform-centric to a strategy-driven Navy. Discuss.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Q. What is the Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025? 
It is the Indian Navy’s apex guidance document outlining strategic principles, force employment, capability development and operational roles across the full maritime conflict spectrum. 

Q. Which national initiatives are aligned with IMD-2025? 
The doctrine aligns with Sagarmala, PM Gati Shakti, Maritime India Vision 2030, Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 and MAHASAGAR. 

Q. What modern threat domains are emphasised in IMD-2025? 
It highlights grey-zone warfare, hybrid warfare, irregular threats, space, cyber and cognitive domains. 

Q. Why is 4 December celebrated as Navy Day? 
It commemorates Operation Trident (1971), when the Indian Navy launched a successful missile-boat attack on Karachi harbour.

 

Summary 

• The Indian Navy released the Indian Maritime Doctrine 2025 on Navy Day, aligning naval strategy with long-term national priorities and formally recognising “no-war, no-peace” as a key operational category. 
• The doctrine emphasises jointness, multi-domain preparedness, and adoption of emerging technologies to support future theatre commands. 
• It aligns with national initiatives like Sagarmala, PM Gati Shakti, Maritime India Vision 2030 and Viksit Bharat 2047, reinforcing India’s proactive maritime posture. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Prelims

Q. Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS): (2017)

1. Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy. 
2. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region. 

Which of the above statements is/are correct? 

(a) 1 only 
(b) 2 only 
(c) Both 1 and 2 
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 

Ans: (b) 

Q. Which one of the following is the best description of ‘INS Astradharini’, that was in the news recently? (2016) 

(a) Amphibious warfare ship 
(b) Nuclear-powered submarine 
(c) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel 
(d) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier 

Ans: (c)