The Indian Navy (IN) is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces, functioning as a military institution responsible for safeguarding the nation's maritime borders and interests. Its legal foundation is the Navy Act, 1957, which consolidates and amends the law relating to the government of the Indian Navy, regulating enlistment, discipline, and service conditions. The history of the Navy dates back to September 5, 1612, when the East India Company formed a naval squadron to protect its trade from the Portuguese and pirates. After India became a republic, the service was formally renamed the Indian Navy on January 26, 1950.
The Navy's mechanism is structured under the Chief of Naval Staff, operating through three main commands: the Western Naval Command (Mumbai), the Eastern Naval Command (Visakhapatnam), and the Southern Naval Command (Kochi). Its roles are categorized into Military (warfare), Diplomatic (joint exercises), Constabulary (anti-piracy beyond India's Maritime Zones), and Benign (Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief). The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Navy, as vested by Article 53 of the Constitution. The Navy's constabulary duties within India's Maritime Zones are shared with the Indian Coast Guard, which was established in February 1978.
A significant recent change is the shift towards becoming a "builder's navy" through indigenization. The indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was commissioned on September 2, 2022. The Navy is undergoing a massive expansion, with the number of frontline combat vessels projected to surge from 47 to 85 between 2025–2030. Legally, the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act 2022 was enacted to criminalize maritime piracy and empower the Navy to respond to threats at sea.