Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, which put India into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to build such large warships.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said INS Vikrant is an example of the Indian government’s thrust to make its defence sector self-reliant and has made the country part of the select group of nations who can indigenously make aircraft carriers.
PM Modi also unveiled the Indian Navy’s new ensign which drops the St George’s Cross and incorporates the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The Prime Minister commissioned the carrier that was built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, at a function organised at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi.
PM Modi unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.
During the event, PM also unveiled the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan), doing away with the colonial past. The new insignia represents the rich Indian maritime heritage.
Its hangar bay is the size of two football fields combined and can accommodate 20 aircraft, there are two hydraulic 360-degree rotatable turntables and a circular revolving platform for turning an aircraft in whichever direction is necessary.
INS Vikrant is the largest warship to be built in India at 262 metres long, 62 metres wide, 59 metres in height, top speed of 28 knots, cruising speed of 18 knots, the endurance of 7,500 nautical miles, 2,300 compartments, specialized cabins for women officers, two football grounds sized flight decks, eight kilometres long corridors, it’s eight power generators can lighten up a city of 2 million.
It will be the country’s second aircraft carrier after INS Vikramaditya, which was built on a Russian platform.
INS Vikrant can accommodate 1,600 crew members and 30 aircraft on board. It is equipped with machines that can make 3,000 chapatis an hour.
The warship, which took over a decade to be built, is equipped with a 16-bed hospital, 250 tankers of fuel, and 2,300 compartments.
