Ahoy! A Career in the Indian Navy - Pros and Cons

chillibreeze writer — Samarth Singh

Am I eligible? What are the application procedures?

There are various ways of assuming a role in the naval chain of command. First and foremost you are required to be a citizen of India. After completing standard 12 or junior college you're eligible to apply to the National Defense academy with Navy as your first option. You could alternatively select Naval Academy, Goa for the first three years of your defense training. Both the entrances are conducted through the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Examination. Thereafter you commence a three year graduation course in fields like Physics, Chemistry and others. On completion of your training, based on your performance you are placed into branches like Logistics, Executive, Engineering, Aviation etc. These decide your job profile in the Indian Navy. The Executive branch is the hottest one, reason being you get quick and easy command of a naval vessel if you belong here. Guys who opt for the Engineering branch are sent to INS Shivaji, Lonavala for a three year Engineering course. In any case, once you're done with your initial three years of training you're commissioned into the Indian Navy as a Sub Lieutenant earning a monthly wage. There also exists an entry procedure wherein a student right after his standard 12 can opt for Engineering at INS Shivaji, in which case he'll be required to do 4 years of engineering. During his 4th year he becomes a commissioned officer. There are also provisions for joining the services after having completed your graduation externally or on short service. More at:
http://www.indiannavy.nic.in

What about my postings?

As an officer you are required to do a requisite amount of time on board. Sailing in the Navy isn't bad since the maximum duration of your voyage maybe around a week or a week and a half. The job of your vessel, depending upon the type, generally tends towards patrolling Indian waters. If you're lucky, you might be assigned a few goodwill voyages as well. We'll talk about those later. When not on board, the Navy boasts of the best defense postings. Take Mumbai for example, the Navy Nagar cantonment is located in Colaba which is bang downtown! Your postings are coastal cities like Chennai, Cochin, Kolkata. The accommodation provided is generally ample for you and even your extended family. Unlike the other defense arms, naval postings last longer, sometimes five to six years. So the hassle of having to move every three years does not exist here. A naval cantonment is well equipped with all that is needed by you and your family, from eighteen-hole golf courses, to shopping centers under the naval canteen.

What are some other incentives?

We talked about goodwill voyages earlier. These voyages send officers abroad to interact with their counterparts from other allied nations. I've personally come across Sub-Lieutenants, young officers who've already seen eight countries! Port stay period is usually long, so there's no shortage of time for sight seeing.

How much do I make?

Well, here comes one of the downsides. Like any other defense arm, the Navy doesn't pay much, but considering the perks you avail of during your service, it isn't a bad deal and there's always that secure life long pension after retirement. To be more precise, the Chief of Naval staff makes INR 30,000 a month. If this does not appeal to you, you could try switching over to the Merchant Navy. Recently, the Navy has started short bridging courses for officers seeking voluntary retirement making them eligible to apply to the Merchant Navy. After getting absorbed into a shipping company at an equivalent rank the remunerations are far better.

To summarize:

Upsides:

Metropolitan postings
Great uniforms
Foreign exposure
No monotonous nine to five routine
Loads of time for recreation and your family

Downsides:

Low pay-scale
Politics in the chain of command
Promotions are slower

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—About our writer:

Samarth Singh describes himself as a BITS, Pilani student in Marine Engineering who decided to try everything in the world but sailing! A pilot by passion, an entrepreneur in my dreams, a journalist by interest and a rule breaker by nature.

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