INS Dronacharya, located at Fort Kochi, is the premier gunnery training establishment of the Indian Navy. Named after Guru Dronacharya, a wise perceptor who instructed the great warriors of Mahabharat in the art of weaponry, this establishment trains about 450 officers and 1600 sailors annually in the field of gunnery. This also includes trainees from the Coast Guard and friendly foreign navies. A two-day international gunnery symposium was held at Sargam Auditorium of INS Dronacharya.

Welcoming the guests, Cmde PP Singh, Commanding Officer, INS Dronacharya briefly touched upon the gradual evolution of gunnery training from its humble beginning on HMIS Himalaya at Manora Island in Karachi, before Independence to the present INS Dronacharya. Vice Admiral Harinder Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command inaugurated the symposium. During the course of the seminar, eight papers were presented. Capt SE David spoke on Tactical Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) and described them as powerful instruments which could be used as means for power projection. Lt Cdr AD Anthony, an instructor at Dronacharya, highlighted the need of revamping the gunnery training process to keep pace with the emerging technology. Some more topics deliberated upon on the first day included ' water barrier as an anti missile defence measure' by Cdr Bopanna, 'modern naval coast batteries' by Lt Cdr S Dam and 'missile life extension-moving towards a stockpile reliability programme’ by Lt Cdr AK Kodukula.

On the second and final day of the symposium, three papers were presented. Speaking about the relevance of land attack missiles and targetting strategy, Cdr Nawaz Ahmed highlighted the need for the third world countries to make forays into the exclusive world of land attack missiles. Cdr A K Tiwari presented a paper on indigenisation of gunnery systems and the way ahead.