India, Feb. 9 -- The navy on Saturday organised the annual chiefs' conclave to brainstorm on the service's modernisation drive, steps to boost indigenisation and the overall future trajectory to stay operationally ready to address challenges to the country's maritime security, officials aware of the matter said.

The conclave, held at the new Nausena Bhawan, was hosted by navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi and attended by eight former chiefs of the naval staff, the officials said, asking not to be named.

The conclave comes at a time when the navy is taking steps to be fully self-reliant by 2047, it is focused on boosting its capabilities in the vast Indian Ocean region (IOR) and is on the verge of making some critical purchases, in...