From SAGAR To MAHASAGAR: India Expands Its Maritime Vision

From SAGAR To MAHASAGAR: India Expands Its Maritime Vision For Connected Indo-Pacific

Launched in 2015, SAGAR embodied Prime Minister Narendra Modi's belief that “the security and prosperity of nations are intimately connected to oceans.”

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Tuesday said India's maritime outlook had evolved “from SAGAR to MAHASAGAR,” marking a wider and deeper phase in the country's engagement with the Indo-Pacific. Addressing delegates from more than 30 nations at the seventh edition of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD 2025), Admiral Tripathi described the Indian Navy's expanding role in translating national vision into regional cooperation.

“As the seas grow more interconnected and indispensable, so too must our strategies,” he said. “It is in this context that India has elevated its maritime vision from Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), to Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (MAHASAGAR). This evolution from Sea to Ocean signifies both expansion of scope and depth of purpose.”

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Launched in 2015, SAGAR embodied Prime Minister Narendra Modi's belief that “the security and prosperity of nations are intimately connected to oceans.” The Indian Navy, the CNS said, had since moved from protecting national waters to shaping regional stability through capacity-building, humanitarian outreach, and technology partnerships.

Under the MAHASAGAR framework, the Navy is pursuing initiatives that extend “beyond our shores,” enabling partner nations to build indigenous capability through training, co-production, and shared logistics.

“True capacity, after all, is not what a nation accumulates, but what a region aggregates,” Admiral Tripathi emphasised.

The 2025 Dialogue is being held under the umbrella of Vision MAHASAGAR and tied closely to the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) announced by PM Modi in 2019. Admiral Tripathi called the two frameworks “mutually reinforcing,” adding that the IPRD theme of holistic maritime security, capacity-building, and capability enhancement forms “the trinity of levers required to navigate maritime dynaxity [dynamic and complex challenges].”

The Navy Chief described the Indo-Pacific as a “shared heritage and shared responsibility,” urging nations to build “regional and sub-regional approaches that respect local realities while reinforcing shared objectives.”

Admiral Tripathi highlighted several recent milestones illustrating India's expanding maritime reach.

The Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) exercise earlier this year brought together nine African navies, demonstrating India's commitment to holistic maritime security. Meanwhile, the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram has evolved into a “shared information hub,” now recognised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a voluntary reporting centre.

Through these initiatives, he said, the Navy seeks to “overcome information asymmetry with information equity.”

Under MAHASAGAR, India's defence-industrial transformation aims to make indigenous technology accessible to partners. “Capacity building cannot be an insular enterprise,” Admiral Tripathi noted. “It thrives on partnerships — through joint design, co-production, maintenance collaboration, and mutual support in crisis response.”

The Navy's efforts in interoperability were on display during Exercise Pacific Reach, where India's Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) successfully mated with foreign submarines. “This demonstrated how individual assets can augment collective assurance across the region,” he said.

Admiral Tripathi described MAHASAGAR as India's contribution to an inclusive maritime order — one that reconciles diversity with unity. “Holistic security must reconcile inclusivity with individuality, enabling every nation, large or small, to contribute according to its capacity while drawing strength from collective purpose,” he said.

He urged that IPRD 2025 be seen as “a forum to convert collective ideas into collaborative actions,” reminding participants that “no problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”

The Dialogue, he concluded, embodies the Indian Navy's mission: to transform shared challenges into shared strength and to turn the seas that connect nations into an ocean of cooperation.

Source: ZeeNews
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