Joint WNC-IMF-NI Webinar 2021

12 November 2021

The annual Western Naval Command, Indian Maritime Foundation & Nautical Institute (West) jointly hosted webinar was held from 9 a.m. onwards on 12 Nov 21. Experts from various domains, including maritime agencies such as the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Merchant Navy; academic scholars, media houses, etc shared their perspectives on the topic “India’s Maritime Softpower and how to create, harness and leverage it”. The four sessions were very stimulating, eliciting original and thought-provoking views from the panels of experts. The well-moderated deliberations were very interesting and useful for the audience, which included young professionals across the maritime domain, policymakers, UG/PG students and many others. The event was streamed live on the Indian Navy YouTube channel, some screenshots of which are in the image gallery below and a recording of which may be viewed here.

Inaugural Session

The Webinar kicked off with a welcome address by Ms Meera Bhadre, Faculty at SNDT Women’s College, Mumbai and the MC for the event, which was followed by brief introductory remarks by Cmde Srikant Kesnur, Director Maritime Warfare Centre (Mumbai). Capt Anand Dixit, President IMF then delivered his Opening Address which was followed by the Inaugural Address by Capt Kapildev Bahl, Master Mariner, Chairman, Nautical Institute India (West). Vice Admiral R Harikumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command then delivered the Keynote Address, which was followed by him releasing the proceedings of the Maritime Webinar 2020, along with President IMF and Chairman Nautical Institute. There were four Tech Sessions conducted thereafter, each of approximately 80-90 minutes in length which was summarised at the end by the Rapporteur Ms Krishna Kataria. The recording of the Opening Session may be viewed here.

Session I : “Maritime Education – Problems, Possibilities and Prospects”

The first Tech Session on the topic “Maritime Education – Problems, Possibilities and Prospects” commenced thereafter with a short introduction by the Moderator, Capt Gyanendra Singh, Master Mariner, Nautical Institute India (West), who thereafter engaged in a lively discussion with the panellists: Dr Malini Shankar, IAS (Retd), Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University (IMU) and former DG Shipping; Prof Anuradha Mazumdar, Director, Centre of Excellence in Maritime Studies (CEMAS), University of Mumbai; Prof (Dr) S Shanthakumar, Director, Gujarat Maritime University (GMU); and Cmde J Gurumani, Commodore (Hydrography) at IHQ MoD (N) and a Member, 25th Indian Scientific expedition to Antarctica. The recording of Session I may be viewed here.

Session II : “Past is the Present – Maritime History, Memorials, Museums and Exhibition Spaces”

The second Tech Session was on the topic “Past is the Present – Maritime History, Memorials, Museums and Exhibition Spaces” and commenced with an introduction of the topic by the Moderator, Cmde Ajay Chitnis (Retd), Vice President, IMF. He thereafter posed a series of questions to the four panellists: Cdr Mohan Narayan (Retd), Maritime Historian and Ex-Curator, MHS, Mr Bharat Gothoskar, a Heritage Evangelist and Founder, KHAKI Tours, Ms Batul Raaj Mehta, Museum Planner, National Maritime Heritage Museum, Lothal and Dr Rukshana Nanji, Archeologist and Maritime History Scholar. The recording of Session II may be viewed here.

Session III : “Looking into the Future – Fostering Maritime Curiosity in Young Minds”

The third Tech Session which was meant primarily for young adults and students was on the topic “Looking into the Future – Fostering Maritime Curiosity in Young Minds” for which Ms Meera Bhadre herself was the moderator. The panellists comprised Master Adhvait P Menon, a young yachting medalist and future prospect, Surg Lt Cdr Swati, a young maritime achiever and part of the Navika Sagar Parikrama all women’s team which carried out a circumnavigation onboard INSV Tarini; Mr Pratekk Tandoan and Ms Deepshikha Saxena, young Maritime Artists from the Society of Indian Marine Artists (SIMA) and Ms Tiya Chatterji, Young Maritime Author, Researcher and Diver. The recording of Session III may be viewed here.

Session IV : “Creating ‘Maritimity’ – Ways, Ends and Means”

The fourth Tech Session was on the topic “Creating ‘Maritimity’ – Ways, Ends and Means” and began with an introduction by the Moderator, Cmde G Prakash (Retd), Distinguished Senior Fellow, Defence Research and Studies (DRAS). He thereafter posed various questions to the four panellists: RAdm RJ Nadkarni (Retd), Council Member, IMF; Ms Richa Pant, Documentary Filmmaker; Comdt Kulpreet Yadav (Retd), Retired Coast Guard Officer and Military Author; and Mr Vishnu Som, Senior Journalist and Executive Editor, NDTV, which elicited thought-provoking views. The recording of Session IV may be viewed here.

Concluding Session

The discussions and main points brought up during the opening session as well as the four technical sessions were summed up succinctly by Cmde Srikant Kesnur. This was followed by the Valedictory Address by VAdm Pradeep Chauhan (retd), DG NMF in his typically forthright and distinctive style. The Webinar concluded with a Vote of Thanks to the organisers, participants and the audience by the MC, Ms Meera Bhadre. The recording of the Closing Session may be viewed here.