The Indian Navy on Tuesday said it will request the government for a higher budget and is aiming at increasing its share of the defence budget to 18%, in light of major acquisitions, including advanced submarines and fighter aircraft.

The Indian Navy has demanded from the government that the Navy’s share in the total defence budget is brought back to the old level. The challenges for the Indian Navy have increased in the Indian Ocean which has increased the need for naval surveillance.

India's second Scorpene-class submarine INS Khanderi that has superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack with torpedoes will be commissioned into service by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 28 in Mumbai, the Navy said today.

India is watching the recent developments in Hong Kong with great attention, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.

The P17A frigates part of India Navy’s most advanced stealth frigate project till date, would be known as Nilgiri class, defence website Livefist has reported.

As many as seven Chinese Navy warships are operating in and around the Indian Ocean Region, including an over 27,000 tonnes amphibious vessel, which have been tracked closely by the Indian Navy using its American-origin P-8I anti-submarine warfare spy planes and other surveillance assets.

Naval Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said last week that they had received intelligence inputs suggesting that the Jaish-e-Mohammad is training its members to carry out underwater attacks. He, however, said that the Indian Navy is fully prepared to thwart such attacks.

India and Malaysia are conducting a joint naval military exercise to test inter-operability of their navies in South East Asia and Western Pacific regions.

The maiden “arrested landing” of the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas on Friday at a shore-based test facility in Goa was a “textbook landing”, DRDO sources said.

India’s second Scorpene-class attack submarine -- INS Khanderi -- will be commissioned into the Navy on September 28 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The ceremony will be attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.