Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday at the Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi. The Prime Minister also unveiled the new Naval Ensign at the event.
Modi said that INS Vikrant is a symbol of India’s strength, research and Skill. The aircraft carrier, which is an outcome of 13 years of hard work, was planned, designed and executed by the Indian Navy. The warship will be fully operational after a few more trials.
With the commissioning of INS Vikrant, India has found a place in the select group of nations that can design and build aircraft carriers. It is also a testimony to India’s significant initiatives ‘make-in-India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.’
The government sanctioned the indigenous aircraft carrier’s design and construction in January 2003. In February 2009, the keel was laid. The ship was launched on August 12, 2003. After a set of trials, it was delivered to the Navy on July 28, 2022.
INS Vikrant has been designed by the Warship Design Bureau. It took the name, motto, and pennant number R11 of India’s first aircraft carrier that played a crucial role in the 1971 war. After a service of 37 years, it was decommissioned in 1997.
A Sanskrit name, Vikrant is translated as ‘courageous.’ Its motto ‘Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprudhah’ means ‘we conquer those who fight us.’ The motto is derived from the Rigveda.
Prime Minister Modi also unveiled the new Naval Ensign. The St George’s Cross in the ensign has been removed as an act of doing away with the colonial past. The ensign now contains the crest of the Indian Navy on a navy blue background covered in an octagon. It represents the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
