Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday commissioned India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at a ceremony at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd in Kochi. Lauding country’s strides in making its defence sector self-reliant, Modi said, “The commissioning of INS Vikrant is akin to a new sunrise in India. This aircraft carrier is testament to our strong resolve for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
With the commissioning of Vikrant, India has joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.
Built at a cost of Rs. 20,000 cr, the mammoth aircraft carrier took almost a decade to build before it was finally commissioned on Friday morning by the prime minister. The aircraft carrier was designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau and built by the Cochin Shipyard Ltd, a public sector company under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
The indigenous aircraft carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier, which had played a vital role in the 1971 India–Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh as an independent sovereign nation. INS Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest warship ever built in the maritime history of India.
Waxing eloquent about the milestone that India has achieved, Modi further said, “Vikrant is not just a warship, it is the evidence of the hard work, talent, impact and commitment of India of the 21st Century.” Modi also said that the indigenous aircraft career showed the collective determination of the country. “When India resolves to do something, no goal, no objective is unachievable. Today, India is one of the few nations building state-of-the-art defence technologies.”
The aircraft carrier has a large amount of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country and over 100 MSMEs. India has now two operational aircraft