Indian Navy ropes in Sterlite Tech to deploy secure digital network

NEW DELHI: Vedanta group’s Sterlite Tech, a digital networks and telecom solutions company Tuesday said it has bagged Rs 3,500-crore worth Indian Navy deal to design, build, operate and maintain the latter’s digital network.

We have been awarded the confirmed Purchase Order (PO) for designing, building and managing the Indian Navy’s digital network, the Pune-based network and services major in a statement said.

The Rs 3,500-crore project is a multi-year contract, which, according to the company, would include design, execution, operations and maintenance of the Navy Digital Network.


The company will build a robust integrated communications network that would provide a secure, reliable and seamless digital highway to the Indian Navy for administrative and defence operations.

This network will give the Indian Navy digital defence supremacy at par with the best naval forces in the world, Sterlite which also manufactures optic-fibre cable domestically, said.

The initiative includes creation of an independent high-capacity end-to-end communications network, linking multiple Indian naval sites and India-administered islands, and includes setting-up of highly secure data centres and Big Data content delivery software-defined next-generation networks.

“This is the first time an integrated end-to-end digital network at such a scale is being built in India, empowering the Indian Navy to secure our borders till the farthest posts in India,” Anand Agarwal, Group CEO, Sterlite Tech said.

Agarwal also said that the technology will enable the Indian Navy to ride new-age applications with advanced security solutions while bringing real-time situational awareness and faster decision making.

Sterlite Tech, according to the company has a proven expertise and experience in building intrusion-proof smarter networks and is already building network for spectrum program (NFS) with the state-run telco BSNL and the defence ministry.

“The digital network initiative will also position our navy for future-readiness, prepare for network virtualisation, Big Data analytics, and customised enterprise applications,” the top executive added.