INS Vikrant has been built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore. (file)
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared a video of INS Vikrant inducting into the Indian Navy and said he cannot express the feeling of pride in words.
PM Modi on Friday commissioned the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi – a significant step by the Union government towards self-reliance in the defense sector.
Sharing the video on his Twitter handle, PM Modi wrote, “A historic day for India! The feeling of pride I felt on INS Vikrant yesterday, cannot be expressed in words.”
A historic day for India!
Words cannot describe the feeling of pride when I was on board INS Vikrant yesterday. pic.twitter.com/vBRCl308C9
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 3 September 2022
Commissioning INS Vikrant, PM Modi termed the event as a “tribute” to the rising spirits of India on the world horizon.
“Today here off the coast of Kerala, every Indian is witnessing the rise of a new future. The event on board INS Vikrant is a tribute to the rising spirits of India on the world horizon,” he said.
“Vikrant is huge and special. Vikrant is not just a warship. It is a testament to the hard work, talent, influence and commitment of 21st century India.”
Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, INS Vikrant is built with state-of-the-art automation facilities. And it is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
INS Vikrant, built at a cost of around Rs 20,000 crore, successfully completed its fourth and final phase of sea trials last month. With the construction of INS Vikrant, India joins a select group of nations that have the capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.
The ship has over 2,300 compartments designed for a crew of about 1,700 people, including special cabins to accommodate women officers.
The Vikrant has a cruising speed of 18 knots with a top speed of about 28 knots and an endurance of about 7,500 knots. The aircraft carrier is 262 meters long, 62 meters wide and 59 meters in height. Its reverse was laid in 2009.
The commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier marks a momentous occasion during the ‘Amritkal’ of 75 years of India’s independence and is a symbol of the country’s confidence and prowess.
This indigenous aircraft carrier is a testament to the country’s technical prowess and engineering prowess. This demonstration of India’s self-reliance in building aircraft carriers will strengthen the country’s defense indigenization programs and ‘Make in India’ campaign.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)