Indian sloops and vulnerable coastal logistics

India did build some sloops, but a larger domestic program was affordable and strategically necessary. Much of the subcontinent's transport network carried goods to the coast, after which coastal shipping redistributed food and supplies. Wartime raiders and submarines exposed that system, while the global shipping shortage made replacement losses difficult. Local escort groups could have protected convoys, reported surface raiders, and called heavier forces to the scene. The missed small-ship capacity therefore connected naval procurement directly to food security, coastal logistics, and industrial growth.