Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India’s first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant today at Kochi taking India a step ahead into a select league of countries with domestic capability to build such large war ships.
The Prime Minister commissioned the carrier, built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, at a function organized at the Cochin Shipyard Limited here.
With the commissioning of Vikrant, India joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and top officials of Navy and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).
PM unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.