The Indian Navy has significantly strengthened its indigenous fleet capabilities with the launch of 'Shruti', the second Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV). Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata, this advanced 3,000-tonne warship was launched in the presence of top naval officials.


Indian navy gets next-generation patrol vessel launched; Shruti launched at GRSE Kolkata

Relationship between one of the largest countries in the world and one of the smallest is quite cordial. India and Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border. Both nations share ethnic, linguistic, religious & commercial links steeped in antiquity. Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region. India is now handing over patrol vessels and landing craft to the Maldives as gifts.

Why is India handing over patrol vessels and landing craft to the Maldives as gifts?

India will be gifting a Fast Patrol Vessel worth Rs 100 crore to Seychelles Coast Guard at the virtual event on Thursday that will be presided over by Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi and the new President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan.&nbsp;

The 48.9 m Fast Patrol Vessel, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders &amp; Engineering will be used for multi-purpose operations, such as patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, and search and rescue (SAR).

The vessel has already been delivered to Seychelles on March 16th and will be officially handed over to Seychelles Coast Guard during the virtual event that will take place at 5 pm IST.&nbsp;

The Fast Patrol Vessel will be the fourth ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles and is named PS Zoroaster. The other vessels gifted by India include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014), Patrol Boat Hermes (2016).

Interestingly, over 50% of Seychelles’ maritime and air assets and around 70% of capacity development in terms of training, exercise, and human resource expertise are provided by India.&nbsp;

The development comes even as the Indian Ocean has seen increased threats such as privacy, illegal fishing, or Chinese presence.

India will also hand over a 1 MW Solar Power Plant at Romainville Island of Seychelles. The plant has been completed as part of the ‘Solar photovoltaic Democratization Project’ being implemented in Seychelles by the Government of India under grant assistance.&nbsp;

The 1 MW solar plant project will generate around 14 lakh units of power annually meeting the electricity consumption of around 400 Seychellois houses all around the year.

A release from India's ministry of external affairs said, " Seychelles occupies a central place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ - ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’.&nbsp;

The inauguration of these key projects demonstrates India’s privileged and time-tested role as a reliable partner of Seychelles for meeting its infrastructural, developmental and security requirements and is a testimony to the deep and friendly ties between the people of India and Seychelles."

Other than handing over of patrol boat and solar power plant, both sides will jointly inaugurate the new Magistrates’ Court Building in Seychelles, 10 High Impact Community Development Projects.&nbsp;

The new Magistrates’ Court Building in the capital city Victoria, is India’s first major civil infrastructure project in Seychelles built with grant assistance.&nbsp;

The building brings together Magistrate courts spread over different locations in Mahé into a single building. It houses eight courtrooms spread over three floors, waiting for areas for the public and parking space for court users, multi-functional conference rooms, and other such facilities.

Thursday's virtual event will be the first interaction of Prime Minister Modi with President Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles. President Wavel, who is of Indian origin with ancestral roots in the Gopalganj district of Bihar came to power in October 2020. He had visited India in January 2018 as a part of the PIO Parliamentarian’s Conference and had visited his native village ‘Parsauni’.

India has been increasing its engagement with Seychelles, with EAM Jaishanker visiting the country in November 2020, becoming the first foreign minister to visit the country after Ramkalawan took charge.&nbsp;

Indian PM Modi had visited the country in 2015, which was the first Prime Ministerial visit from India in 33 years.

India will be gifting a Fast Patrol Vessel worth Rs 100 crore to Seychelles Coast Guard at the virtual event on Thursday that will be presided over by Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi and the new President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan.

India will be gifting a Fast Patrol Vessel worth Rs 100 crore to Seychelles Coast Guard at the virtual event on Thursday that will be presided over by Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi and the new President of Seychelles Wavel Ramkalawan. The 48.9 m Fast Patrol Vessel, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineering will be used for multi-purpose operations, such as patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, and search and rescue (SAR). The vessel has already been delivered to Seychelles on March 16th and will be officially handed over to Seychelles Coast Guard during the virtual event that will take place at 5 pm IST. The Fast Patrol Vessel will be the fourth ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles and is named PS Zoroaster. The other vessels gifted by India include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014), Patrol Boat Hermes (2016). Interestingly, over 50% of Seychelles’ maritime and air assets and around 70% of capacity development in terms of training, exercise, and human resource expertise are provided by India. The development comes even as the Indian Ocean has seen increased threats such as privacy, illegal fishing, or Chinese presence. India will also hand over a 1 MW Solar Power Plant at Romainville Island of Seychelles. The plant has been completed as part of the ‘Solar photovoltaic Democratization Project’ being implemented in Seychelles by the Government of India under grant assistance. The 1 MW solar plant project will generate around 14 lakh units of power annually meeting the electricity consumption of around 400 Seychellois houses all around the year. A release from India's ministry of external affairs said, " Seychelles occupies a central place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ - ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’. The inauguration of these key projects demonstrates India’s privileged and time-tested role as a reliable partner of Seychelles for meeting its infrastructural, developmental and security requirements and is a testimony to the deep and friendly ties between the people of India and Seychelles." Other than handing over of patrol boat and solar power plant, both sides will jointly inaugurate the new Magistrates’ Court Building in Seychelles, 10 High Impact Community Development Projects. The new Magistrates’ Court Building in the capital city Victoria, is India’s first major civil infrastructure project in Seychelles built with grant assistance. The building brings together Magistrate courts spread over different locations in Mahé into a single building. It houses eight courtrooms spread over three floors, waiting for areas for the public and parking space for court users, multi-functional conference rooms, and other such facilities. Thursday's virtual event will be the first interaction of Prime Minister Modi with President Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles. President Wavel, who is of Indian origin with ancestral roots in the Gopalganj district of Bihar came to power in October 2020. He had visited India in January 2018 as a part of the PIO Parliamentarian’s Conference and had visited his native village ‘Parsauni’. India has been increasing its engagement with Seychelles, with EAM Jaishanker visiting the country in November 2020, becoming the first foreign minister to visit the country after Ramkalawan took charge. Indian PM Modi had visited the country in 2015, which was the first Prime Ministerial visit from India in 33 years.

India to gift patrol vessel worth Rs 100 cr to Seychelles at Modi-Ramkalawan virtual meet

The Indian Coast Guard launched a 98-metre offshore patrol vessel ‘Vigraha’ at a private shipyard in Kattupalli, north of Chennai, in the presence of Dr TV Somanathan, IAS, Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance. Director General Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan and Inspector General Region East S. Paramesh were also present with other dignitaries and officers. This is the last in the series of seven vessels that was designed and built exclusively for the Coast Guard by Larsen and Toubro Shipbuilding as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.&nbsp;

The 98-m long ship has a displacement of 2100 tons, is capable of achieving a top speed of 26 knots and has an endurance of 5000 nautical miles and the ability to stay at sea for 20 days without replenishment. Vigraha, also known as (Yard-45007) is likely to be inducted into Indian Coast Guard in March 2021 after completion of extensive trials and testing of the on-board equipment and machinery. Once inducted, the vessel would serve the East Region, from Vishakapatnam, under the leadership of IG S.Paramesh in the Region East.&nbsp;

During the commissioning of an Interceptor boat at the East region, IG S. Paramesh had told WION that East region has a fleet of 10 Interceptor boats, eight offshore patrol vessels, 15 fast patrol vessels, besides five Dornier aircraft and three Chetak choppers.&nbsp;

Launching of the vessel marks an important milestone, as the vessel touches the water for the first time. In India, ships have historically been launched with a Puja ceremony that dedicates the ship to the almighty and blessings are sought for the ship and her crew. The ceremony involves a lady breaking a coconut on the bow of the vessel, along with Puja and festivities. As per Maritime traditions the ship was launched by Smt Hema Somanathan, Spouse of Dr TV Somanathan, the chief guest.&nbsp;

The ship has been fitted with advanced navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery that are capable of operating in tropical climates. The ship has been designed to carry integral Twin Engine Helicopter which will enhance its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capability. Armed with a 30mm 2A42 Naval Gun and two 12.7mm guns, the ship would be utilised for day and night surveillance, besides anti-terror, anti-smuggling operations In the Exclusive Economic Zone and for coastal security.&nbsp;

Despite the restriction and constraints faced amid the pandemic, the vessel is said to have been launched in a timely manner and is expected to be operational as per schedule. The ship’s expected life span is more than 25 years and is meant to be manned by 102 crew, which includes 14 officers, 88 subordinate officers and enrolled personnel. New OPVs and other vessels being inducted into the Indian Coast Guard are meant to replace ageing ships (that served for over 25-30 years) in the fleet.&nbsp;

At an earlier occasion, K Natarajan, Director General, Indian Coast Guard had said, “The Coast Guard began in 1977 with two vessels and five boats. We have made swift progress since then with the support of PSUs and private shipyards and have over 146 surface platforms and 62 aircraft currently. The Interceptor boats are our workhorses and OPV form a strong backbone. We have a daily deployment of 50 ships and 10 aircraft for monitoring and securing our 7516 coastlines and Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million sq kms.”&nbsp;

As a part of an expansion, modernisation drive, Coast Guard is planning to boost assets to 200 vessels and 100 aircraft by 2025.&nbsp;

The Indian Coast Guard is the fourth largest in the world and stands larger than many navies. The ICG also has bilateral and multilateral agreements with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives etc.

The Indian Coast Guard launched a 98-metre offshore patrol vessel ‘Vigraha’ at a private shipyard in Kattupalli, north of Chennai, in the presence of Dr TV Somanathan, IAS, Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance.

The Indian Coast Guard launched a 98-metre offshore patrol vessel ‘Vigraha’ at a private shipyard in Kattupalli, north of Chennai, in the presence of Dr TV Somanathan, IAS, Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance. Director General Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan and Inspector General Region East S. Paramesh were also present with other dignitaries and officers. This is the last in the series of seven vessels that was designed and built exclusively for the Coast Guard by Larsen and Toubro Shipbuilding as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The 98-m long ship has a displacement of 2100 tons, is capable of achieving a top speed of 26 knots and has an endurance of 5000 nautical miles and the ability to stay at sea for 20 days without replenishment. Vigraha, also known as (Yard-45007) is likely to be inducted into Indian Coast Guard in March 2021 after completion of extensive trials and testing of the on-board equipment and machinery. Once inducted, the vessel would serve the East Region, from Vishakapatnam, under the leadership of IG S.Paramesh in the Region East. During the commissioning of an Interceptor boat at the East region, IG S. Paramesh had told WION that East region has a fleet of 10 Interceptor boats, eight offshore patrol vessels, 15 fast patrol vessels, besides five Dornier aircraft and three Chetak choppers. Launching of the vessel marks an important milestone, as the vessel touches the water for the first time. In India, ships have historically been launched with a Puja ceremony that dedicates the ship to the almighty and blessings are sought for the ship and her crew. The ceremony involves a lady breaking a coconut on the bow of the vessel, along with Puja and festivities. As per Maritime traditions the ship was launched by Smt Hema Somanathan, Spouse of Dr TV Somanathan, the chief guest. The ship has been fitted with advanced navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery that are capable of operating in tropical climates. The ship has been designed to carry integral Twin Engine Helicopter which will enhance its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capability. Armed with a 30mm 2A42 Naval Gun and two 12.7mm guns, the ship would be utilised for day and night surveillance, besides anti-terror, anti-smuggling operations In the Exclusive Economic Zone and for coastal security. Despite the restriction and constraints faced amid the pandemic, the vessel is said to have been launched in a timely manner and is expected to be operational as per schedule. The ship’s expected life span is more than 25 years and is meant to be manned by 102 crew, which includes 14 officers, 88 subordinate officers and enrolled personnel. New OPVs and other vessels being inducted into the Indian Coast Guard are meant to replace ageing ships (that served for over 25-30 years) in the fleet. At an earlier occasion, K Natarajan, Director General, Indian Coast Guard had said, “The Coast Guard began in 1977 with two vessels and five boats. We have made swift progress since then with the support of PSUs and private shipyards and have over 146 surface platforms and 62 aircraft currently. The Interceptor boats are our workhorses and OPV form a strong backbone. We have a daily deployment of 50 ships and 10 aircraft for monitoring and securing our 7516 coastlines and Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million sq kms.” As a part of an expansion, modernisation drive, Coast Guard is planning to boost assets to 200 vessels and 100 aircraft by 2025. The Indian Coast Guard is the fourth largest in the world and stands larger than many navies. The ICG also has bilateral and multilateral agreements with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives etc.

Chennai: Indian Coast Guard launches offshore patrol vessel 'Vigraha'

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