Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday commissioned the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi in a significant step towards self-reliance in the defence sector. Terming the event a “tribute" to India’s rising spirits on the world horizon, PM Modi said: “INS Vikrant is a floating airfield, a floating town… and the power generated in it can light up 5,000 houses, while the cables can run to Kashi from Kochi."
At 262 metres long and 62 metres wide, INS Vikrant is the largest warship to be built in India. It can have 30 aircraft on board, including MiG-29K fighter jets and helicopters. The warship can accommodate a crew of nearly 1,600. INS Vikrant is named after its predecessor, which played a key role during the 1971 war against Pakistan for the liberation of Bangladesh.
Here are PM Modi’s top quotes from the ceremony:
• “Today, India has entered the list of countries that can build such large warships indigenously. Vikrant has infused new confidence.”
• “Today, here on the coast of Kerala, every Indian is witnessing the sunrise of a new future. This event held on INS Vikrant is a tribute to India’s rising spirits on the world horizon.”
• “Vikrant is huge and special. Vikrant is not just a warship. This is a testimony to the hard work, talent, influence and commitment of 21st century India."
• “INS Vikrant is an example of the government’s thrust to making India’s defence sector self-reliant.”
• “When India resolves to do something no goal, no objective is unachievable. Today, India is one of the few nations building state-of-the-art defence technologies.”
• “Earlier, only developed nations could construct aircraft carriers like INS Vikrant. But now, India has joined this seloect league.”
• “India is reviving its lost energy from the colonial period during this ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.”
• “An indomitable Navy will also boost maritime trade & commerce in the country. From offshore patrol vessels, submarines to aircraft carriers, Indian Navy is strengthening at a rapid pace.”
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