Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent this year’s Diwali on board an Indian Navy vessel with which he shares a close association over the past three years. He had commissioned the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited on September 2, 2022. It marked a symbol of the country’s growing prowess of indigenous manufacturing and an achievement of a major milestone in the path towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
Incidentally, PM Modi r had also unveiled the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan) at the same event, doing away with the colonial past. He dedicated the new ensign to Chhatrapati Shivaji. “I remember when INS Vikrant was being handed over to the nation, I had said that Vikrant is vast, immense, and magnificent,” he recollected on Monday, October 20. It was throwback to his 2022 address, where he had said: “Vikrant is huge, massive, and vast. Vikrant is distinguished; Vikrant is also special. Vikrant is not just a warship. This is a testament to the hard work, talent, influence and commitment of India in the 21st century.”
Reiterating those words, PM Modi: “The day India received the Swadeshi INS Vikrant, our Indian Navy discarded a major symbol of colonial subjugation. And referring to the Ensign, he added: “Inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, our Navy adopted a new flag.” The commissioning of INS Vikrant was a proud moment, which ushered India among a select band of countries having niche capability to indigenously design and build an indigenous aircraft carrier.
The vessel is designed by 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 has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in maritime history of India.
