President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday hailed the services of the Indian Navy, saying that the defence force has the mandate to protect, preserve, and promote country’s maritime interests against the several backdrops including piracy, armed robbery, drug smuggling, illegal human migration and natural disasters.

Addressing an event after launching India’s newest warship ‘INS Vindhyagiri’ at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd’s (GRSE) facility on the banks of Hooghly River in West Bengal’s Kolkata, Murmu said that the Navy has to always remain proactive in tackling security threats.

“The security in the Indian Ocean Region, and the larger Indo-Pacific has many aspects. It includes piracy, armed robbery, drug smuggling, illegal human migration, natural disasters and several such issues. Against this backdrop, the Indian Navy has the mandate to protect, preserve, and promote India’s maritime interests. The Navy has to always remain proactive in tackling security threats,” she said.

The President also extended her best wishes to the Indian Navy for the launch of the warship.

Talking about the importance of oceans to a country’s growth and well-being, the President said, “Today India is the fifth-largest economy in the world and we are striving to become the third-largest economy in the near future,” she said, adding that a growing economy means higher volumes of trade and a huge part of our trade goods transit through the seas which highlight the importance of oceans to our growth and well-being.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were also present on the occasion.

Murmu arrived in Kolkata on Thursday morning to inaugurate the advanced stealth frigate for the Indian Navy.

This is Murmu’s second visit to West Bengal since becoming the president last year.
The president, who is on a date-long visit to the state also launched the ‘My Bengal, Addiction Free Bengal’ campaign under the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’, organised by Brahma Kumaris at the Raj Bhavan.

Vindhyagiri, named after the mountain range in Karnataka, is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates. These warships are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

It is a technologically advanced Frigate that pays a befitting tribute to the distinguished service of its predecessor, the erstwhile INS Vindhyagiri, the Leander Class ASW Frigate.
“The old Vindhyagiri in its nearly 31 years of service from 08 Jul 81 to11 Jun 12, had witnessed various challenging operations and multinational exercises. The newly christened Vindhyagiri stands as a symbol of India’s determination to embrace its rich naval heritage while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities,” the Ministry of Defence release said.

Under the Project 17A program, a total of four ships by M/s MDL and three ships by M/s GRSE are under construction. The project’s first five ships have been launched by MDL and GRSE, between 2019-2022.

Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, the pioneer organisation for all warship design activities.
“Aligning with the country’s resolute commitment
to ‘AatmaNirbharta’, a substantial 75 per cent of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships are from indigenous firms, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The launch of Vindhyagiriis an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation has made in building a self-reliant naval force” said the release.