Sept 02,2022:A mammoth shipbuilding effort that was on for the last 13 years at Cochin Shipyard, along with years of planning, designing and execution by the Indian Navy, attained a key milestone when India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) was commissioned as Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the commissioning ceremony which was held at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi on Friday morning where he also unveiled the new Naval Ensign or Nishaan.
In his address, PM Modi said, “Today, INS Vikrant has filled the country with a new confidence. It’s a symbol of India’s hard work, ingenuity, influence and commitment. It’s a symbol of indigenous strength, research and skill.” He said women officers will also be posted on INS Vikrant underlining their increasing role in the armed forces. He added that all branches of the Navy are now inducting women officers.
A chunk of trials, especially that of the Aviation Facility Complex, are yet to happen before the warship is fully operational. INS Vikrant puts India in the select group of nations that are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers. The commissioning is seen as a boost to the present government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives that are centred around indigenous manufacturing and reducing import dependencies. It is also expected to propel the Navy’s demand for a second indigenous carrier which it has been making for the last few years.
IAC-1, now INS Vikrant, has been designed by the Warship Design Bureau, earlier known as the Directorate of Naval Design which is the Indian Navy’s in-house design organisation, and constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
