The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu visited the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) ‘Vikrant’, which is under advanced stage of construction at Cochin Shipyard Ltd at Kochi.
The Indian navy plans to complete the process of ship’s delivery and commissioning prior to August 2022 to commemorate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
IAC Vikrant will provide the Indian Navy with the requisite flexibility and mobility. With the construction of this Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, India will enter into a select band of countries that have the niche and capability of designing and building an Aircraft Carrier.
During the visit, Vice President was accompanied by the Hon’ble Governor of Kerala Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief of Staff Southern Naval Command Rear Admiral Antony George, NM, VSM, CMD Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Shri Madhu S Nair, and other senior officials of Navy and CSL.
Later, the Vice President paid a visit to Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and unveiled Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial. Naidu also laid the foundation stone of a Towed Array Integration Facility and handed over an Automated Sonar Trainer to the Navy.
The Vice President also inspected a Guard of Honour by the Indian Navy.
He will attend a few programmes in Kochi and Kottayam on Monday and will fly back to New Delhi on January 4.
