Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on Wednesday said that the Navy is aiming to become Aatmanirbhar (Self-Reliant) by the year 2047, adding that self-reliance is a strategic necessity due to the prevailing global scenario in the world.

"The global scenario has made it clear that self-reliance is a strategic necessity. Indian Navy has decided that it would be totally Aatmanirbhar by 2047. India is leading the world with over 100 billion digital financial transactions being recorded annually and the number is steadily growing," Admiral R Hari Kumar said while addressing the Swavlamban 2.0 event here in the national capital.

"So today we will be taking a giant step with the SBI when the Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launches the SBI Nav-eCash card for implementation pan Navy," he said.

Elucidating on the Nav-eCash card, Navy Chief said, "This system is ready for implementation in every domain where there are restrictions on real-time internet connectivity or internet usage or there is non-availability of internet due to being in a remote location."

Admiral R Hari Kumar further mentioned that the evolution of the Nav-eCash card project happened after one of the Navy officials developed a business model and brought it to the attention of the Indian Navy.

"Indian Navy initiated its first step as an idea by one of our officers, Captain Vasu Dheeraj, towards a cashless and digital Indian Navy in 2020 by developing a business model and proof of concept with a startup for offline transactions at the high seas based upon a dual chip card system," Navy chief said.

"So this project was brought to life by the State Bank of India, which took the initiative forward by embedding the offline solution into their existing online solution and paving the way for the maiden trials on board INS Vikramaditya in 2021," he added.

Towards strengthening the Digital India initiative of the Government of India, the State Bank of India launched a new card named NAV-eCash onboard the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, on October 1, 2021, at Karwar.

"The card is a unique milestone in banking operations and uses dual chip card technology that enables payments, in the offline and online environment. It also has all the features of a regular debit or prepaid card in online mode. It was conceptualized by a team of officers of INS Vikramaditya and brought to reality by the SBI, India's largest public sector bank. It is designed to replace cash payments with digital transactions even in areas devoid of real-time internet connectivity, like warships at sea, offshore oil platforms, and remote areas," the Indian Navy said.