Indigenous INS Nipun, INS Nistar launched

VISHAKAPATNAM: Indian Navy’s chief of naval staff Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar said the Indian Navy will become 100 per cent Atma Nirbhar by 2047.

Speaking at the launch of two indigenous diving support vessels (DSVs) at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) yard on Thursday, Kumar said once commissioned, the two will be known as INS Nipun and INS Nistar.

The DSVs are 118.4 metres long, 22.8 metres wide at the broadest point and will have a displacement of 9,350 tonnes. The ships will be capable of sustained patrolling, conducting search & rescue operations and carrying out helicopter operations from high seas.

A few days ago, the Navy had commissioned the first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi. Some 43 of the 45 ships and submarines under construction are being built at shipyards across the country. The indigenous ship building projects also act as a catalyst for significant employment generation and skill development, Kumar stated.

“With completion of all these projects, we will be able to reach our goal of 100 per cent Atma Nirbhar by 2047,” he said.

Kumar said the INS Nistar was a submarine rescue vessel in its previous avatar and commissioned in 1971. The new avatar will be a DSV for deep sea operations.

“In the past, the INS Nistar played a key role in conducting diving operations on the Pakistan Navy submarine, Ghazi, which sank outside the Visakhapatnam harbour during the 1971 Indo-Pak war,” Kumar recalled.

Speaking to DC on the sidelines of the programme, a Naval staff said that nearly 80 per cent of the DSV project’s equipment is indigenously sourced -- from more than 120 MSMEs.

The ships reassure the Navy’s stature as the ‘first responder’ to partners and friendly foreign countries across the Indian Ocean Region and is aligned with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of SAGAR – Security And Growth for All in the Region.

Earlier, as per the protocol, the Naval Wives Welfare Association president Kala Hari Kumar formally launched the DSVs with rituals and announced the vessels’ names to the nation.

Points:

- INS Nistar's previous avatar was as a diving vessel on Pak Navy submarine during the Indo-Pak war in 1971

- 45 ships and submarines under construction;

Indian Navy will become 100% Atma Nirbhar by 2047