Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned three naval vessels built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata, strengthening India’s domestic naval construction programme, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
INS Dunagiri, INS Sanshodhak and INS Agray entered service with the Indian Navy at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, West Bengal.
All three ships were built by GRSE, with design work led by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. The vessels add three different capabilities to the fleet.
INS Dunagiri is a Project 17A stealth frigate equipped with BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles and a Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile system.
INS Sanshodhak is a large survey vessel built for coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys, as well as oceanographic and geophysical data collection.
INS Agray is an anti-submarine warfare shallow-water craft fitted with torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets and sonar systems for coastal operations.
Official statements put indigenous content at more than 75% and said the programme involved more than 200 Indian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Modi said maritime strength would increasingly depend on sea routes, undersea data networks, critical minerals, deep-sea resources and future energy sources. “No nation can emerge as a major power without strong maritime capabilities,” he said.
He also linked the commissioning to India’s push to expand domestic defence manufacturing. “India seeks to become a producer and a manufacturer,” Modi said. More than 40 indigenously built warships and submarines have been inducted into the Indian Navy in recent years, while 45 major naval platforms are under construction. Modi also cited a Rs 70,000 crore incentive package for the shipping sector, equivalent to about $7.4bn at Rs 94.40 per dollar.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers is a Kolkata-based defence public sector undertaking under India’s Ministry of Defence. The company traces its roots to 1884 and was taken over by the Indian government in 1960. Its portfolio includes frigates, corvettes, fleet tankers, landing ships, landing craft, survey vessels, offshore patrol vessels and fast attack craft.
