Photos: PM Modi commissions India's 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday commissioned the INS Vikrant, India's first indigenously-built aircraft carrier, at the Cochin Shipyard Limited. The navy said that the carrier is the largest warship to be built in the country and can carry a crew of around 1,600 and operate a fleet of 30 aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters.

More than 75% of India's new aircraft carrier's components are indigenously procured, with half a dozen major industrial firms and over 100 smaller businesses providing equipment and machinery, according to the Defense Ministry. According to defence experts, a delay of six years caused a six-fold price overrun to 200 billion rupees ($2.5 billion).

After the unveiling, the Prime Minister said India has now joined the select club of nations who have developed indigenous aircraft carriers. Addressing the commissioning ceremony, Modi said: "INS Vikrant is a floating airfield, a floating town... and the power generated can light up 5,000 houses, while the cables can run to Kashi from Kochi." He said that the carrier's deck is the size of two football fields, an example of the government's aim to make India self-reliant even in the defence sector.

Navy sailors pose for a selfie on the deck of India's first home-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant after it was commissioned in Kochi, India, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totalling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots. The project has progressed in three Phases of the contract between MoD and CSL, concluded in May 2007, December 2014 and October 2019, respectively. The ship's keel was laid in Feb 2009, followed by its launch in August 2013.

Vikrant has been built with a high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.

Gathering during the commissions of the first indigenous aircraft carrier as INS Vikrant as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses, in Kochi on Friday.

Women stand next to Komoho Helicopter on the deck of the Indian indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant during its commissioning at Cochin Shipyard in Kochi on September 2, 2022.

Designed by the Indian Navy's in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, INS Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the country's maritime history.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the Guard of Honour during the commissions of INS Vikrant in Kochi on Friday.

Indian Navy officers and attendees gather on the deck of the Indian indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant during its commissioning at Cochin Shipyard in Kochi on September 2, 2022.

The indigenous carrier is named after its illustrious predecessor, who played a vital role in the 1971 war. Seventy-five per cent of the material used for its construction has been sourced indigenously. Above, people watch the INS Vikrant leave for trials in the Arabian Sea in Kochi, India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar, NSA Ajit Doval and other dignitaries during the commissioning ceremony of the first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, in Kochi on Friday.

Indian Navy officers stand next to a Mig 29 fighter jet on the deck.

Police officers take use their mobile phones to take photographs on the flight deck.