India gets first indigenous aircraft carrier as PM Modi commissions INS Vikrant in Kochi

New Delhi, 2/9: India on Friday joined an exclusive club of five nations with the capability of designing and constructing a 40,000 tonnes class aircraft carrier from scratch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioning INS Vikrant at the Cochin shipyard that built the massive warship over the past 13 years.

“So far only developed countries have made such warships. Today India moved a step forward to join the league of developed nations,” the Prime Minister said here at the commissioning of INS Vikrant.He also unveiled a new flag for the Indian Navy doing away with the pre-independence tradition of using the St George’s Cross – a practice adopted by the Royal Navy more than 200 years ago.

In the new flag the Ashoka emblem sits atop an anchor at the centre while the tricolour has been retained on the top left. The central seal with the national emblem and naval crest is embossed on a blue coloured seal inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji’s fleet.