Indian Navy and IIT Delhi partner to enhance warship habitability

The Directorate of Naval Architecture (DNA) of the Indian Navy and IIT Delhi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a research and design center focused on enhancing the Quality of Life (QoL) onboard Indian Naval ships through innovative design interventions.

The agreement was formalised by RAdm Arvind Rawal, Assistant Chief of Materiel (Dockyard & Refit), Indian Navy, and Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director of IIT Delhi, marking a significant step toward improving crew-centric warship design.

Research focus and objectives

Under the MoU, researchers from IIT Delhi’s Department of Design will study safety, efficiency, and habitability for ongoing and future naval construction projects, providing critical inputs to enhance ship designs.

The collaboration aims to improve QoL not only for naval ships but potentially for the mercantile marine and other Indian ethnicity-based habitability needs. This will involve analysing existing Indian Navy ship designs, comparing them with international QoL standards in areas such as ergonomics, comfort, efficiency, safety, and user experience, and identifying areas for improvement.

Strategic design interventions

The partnership will focus on systematically pinpointing deficiencies in current ship designs and proposing new design solutions to position Indian Navy ships as leaders in habitability and functionality compared to global standards.

RAdm Arvind Rawal highlighted the significance of the collaboration, stating, “This MoU marks a significant step forward in our shared endeavour to make Indian warships not just formidable in combat but also exemplary in terms of crew comfort, efficiency, and habitability. Through this partnership, we are joining hands with one of the nation’s premier academic institutions to build subject matter expertise in crew-centric warship design. The initiative introduces a scientific, process-based approach to habitability—bringing in the disciplines of ergonomics, human factors, and design optimisation into naval architecture.”