The commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant today is a proud moment for the country. It is a big step in the growth of India’s naval capabilities and will improve our strategic heft in the Indian Ocean Region. India has joined a select club of nations like the US and China with indegeneous aircraft carrier building capacity.
INS Vikrant, built at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore, is credited with creating around 2000 jobs at Cochin Shipyard and another 13,000 indirectly. With over 70% of its parts domestically sourced, it will be a big achievement if India can achieve similar indigenisation in Army and Air Force purchases, as has been achieved for the Navy. However, the challenge for India is that it has to keep pace with China, which has the largest Navy in the world and is building new warships at a frenetic pace.
Of course, multilateral Indo-Pacific initiatives like Quad and Aukus will help but it is important for India to rely on its own strength. The argument for a third aircraft carrier is strong in naval circles because it allows deployment of at least one carrier each on India’s eastern and western seaboards while the third can undergo maintenance and refitting. The Cabinet Committee on Security must consider such a demand right now. It took nearly two decades for Vikrant to go from greenlighting to commissioning. Building the next aircraft carrier will take at least a decade. Ultimately, India will have to grow at a faster clip if it wants to allocate more spending for defence and this is where Centre and states need to pull together for much delayed economic reforms.
Read also: PM Modi commissions India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
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