3 warships join Navy, PM says India’s key to global security

Context: As Three
frontline vessels were commissioned together into the Indian Navy, a historic
first for the country. Three frontline combatants – INS Nilgiri, lead ship of
the Project 17A stealth frigate class, Ins Surat, fourth and final ship of the
Project 15B stealth destroyer class, and INS Vagsheer, sixth and final
submarine of the Scorpene-class project were commissioned in the Indian Navy at
the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Key points

·      
Overview: This first
tri-commissioning of indigenously developed destroyer, frigate and submarine
marks a significant step towards realizing India’s vision of becoming global
leader in naval indigenisation and maritime security.

·      
About three frontline naval combatants: INS Surat -
4th and final ship of the P15B Guided Missile Destroyer Project.

INS Nilgiri - 1st ship of the
P17A Stealth Frigate Project designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design
Bureau.

INS Vaghsheer - 6th and final
submarine of the P75 Scorpene Project built by Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock
Limited.

·      
India's Naval Indigenization efforts: Navy's
expansion of Make in India Initiative - Of the 40 naval vessels included in
the Navy in the past decade, 39 have been built in Indian shipyards.

R&D
Initiatives - Underwater Domain Awareness (Samudrayaan project), Scientific
partnerships with Indian Ocean Rim countries and development of autonomous
systems for high-risk environments like, mine detection.

·      
Policies: Indian Navy’s Maritime
Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP) - Targets a force of 200 ships by 2027
with a vision of transforming it from a buyer’s navy to a builder’s navy.

Indian Naval
Indigenisation Plan (INIP) 2015-2030 - Encourages domestic
industries including MSMEs to participate in ship construction.