New Delhi: The first phase of the Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2023 will begin Monday onboard India’s indigenously-made aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The talk will be held on the aircraft carrier for the very first time.
The conference acts as an important forum for commanders of the Indian Navy to come together and discuss matters related to the force, the Indian Ocean region, maritime security, and other military-strategic aspects.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address the inaugural day of the conference. Further, the Chief of Defence Staff, and chiefs of the Army and Air Force will interact with the naval commanders. This is to ensure “the convergence of the three services vis-à-vis common operational environment, and avenues of augmenting tri-service synergy and readiness towards the defence of the nation and India’s national interests,” the Navy said in a statement.
It added that the naval commanders will also get an update regarding the Agnipath scheme — the central government’s new recruitment plan for the armed forces. Details of the first batch of both male and female recruits will be provided. They are scheduled to pass out from INS Chilka, the primary training establishment for Agniveers, at the end of March this year.
“The Chief of the Naval Staff, along with other naval commanders will review major operational, materiel, logistics, human resource development, training and administrative activities undertaken by the Indian Navy in the past six months and further deliberate upon future plans for important activities and initiatives,” the Navy said.
INS Vikrant, the Navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, was delivered to the force in July 2022 and commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2022. It has been made with an estimated 76 per cent indigenisation component at an approximate cost of Rs 20,000 crore.
Further, INS Vikrant is 262 meters in length and has a displacement of 45,000 tonnes. The carrier has a top speed of 28 knots and is powered by gas turbines with a total capacity of 88 megawatts.
Recently, naval pilots carried out a landing of the indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft-Navy on INS Vikrant.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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