New Delhi

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new ensign of the country’s Navy at the commissioning ceremony of INS Vikrant on Friday. INS Vikrant is India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier which was designed by Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited. 

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The new ensign of the Indian Navy features the tricolour of the national flag and it will no longer feature Saint George's cross – a constant feature of Navy flags since the pre-independence era. 

Also read | PM Modi commissions INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier

Modi, in his speech, touched on the topic and said that with this Navy Ensign (Nishaan), "India has shed its colonial past".

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"Till today Indian Naval flags carried a sign of slavery which has been replaced with a new one inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," he said according to the news agency PTI. 

"It was removed from the flag during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government between 2001 to 2004 but soon after Sonia Gandhi-led UPA came back to power, they brought it back citing certain issues raised by the then Navy officials," the announcer during the commissioning event told the attendees.  

The flag also features a homage to legendary Indian warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji. 

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Modi also commissioned INS Vikrant — the aircraft carrier named after her illustrious predecessor and India`s first aircraft carrier, which played a vital role in the 1971 war. INS Vikrant is also the country's second aircraft carrier after INS Vikramaditya, which was built on a Russian platform. 

The warship is 262 metres long and 62 metres wide. According to a video released by the Indian Navy, the INS Vikrant is big enough to cover two football fields end-to-end and 18 floors tall.