News from website - defenceindia.com Incerted by Dr.Dinesh - Kannur> The Indian Naval Academy would function under the Southern Naval Command> based at Kochi headed by Vice Admiral Sunil K Damle. The Project Management> Authority which was entrusted with the planning and execution of the> Naval Academy is headed by Commodore TK Ashokan. The complex civil works under> difficult conditions were executed under the able guidance of> Brigadier Sunil V Gopande and his team from the Indian Army's Corps of Engineers. The Academy covers an area of 2452 acres along the North Malabar coastline> including the Kavvayi backwaters where watermanship training would be conducted.> The academy would have state of the art classrooms, laboratories and workshops,> a well stocked library and a modern auditorium. Physical fitness training facilities> include indoor swimming and diving pools, athletics track and stadium, a variety> of play fields and courts, a firing range and a waterman ship training centre.> A comprehensive IT network interconnecting various facilities is also being set up. Whilst Naval Orientation Courses are being conducted at Ezhimala since 2005,> full fledged training will commence from June 2009.The Academy would be conducting> a four year B Tech programme for all newly inducted trainees. Courses would be> offered in Electronics and Communications and Mechanical Engineering.> The syllabus and the curriculum has been drafted keeping in mind the current> technical advancements and the skill sets that will be required in handling the> future acquisitions of the Indian Navy.>

Naval Orientation Courses of 20 weeks duration for other direct entry scheme> after graduation) in various branches will also be conducted here. The total> envisaged strength of the Academy in June 2009 would be approximately 450 trainees> which would progressively increase to about 1100 trainees by 2013. This would include> officer trainees from the Indian Coast Guard and friendly foreign countries.>

The Naval Academy will be manned by a mix of uniformed and civilian personnel> for conduct of training and other administrative support functions. There would be> 161 officers, 47 professors/ lecturers, 502 sailors and 557 civilians. Along with> the families of staff, the campus would have a population of about 4000. A well designed> township would provide living spaces for the>m.