The Hindu : Front Page : India has no aggressive designs, says Manmohan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 27, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

India has no aggressive designs, says Manmohan

K.V. Prasad

First indigenous nuclear-powered submarine launched for trials

— Photos: Special Arrangement, PTI

In elite club: Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, breaks a coconut on the hull of INS Arihant to mark its launch. As per naval convention, warships are launched by ladies.

VISAKHAPATNAM: At the stroke of noon on Sunday, India demonstrated its capability to indigenously build and operate a nuclear-powered submarine with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launching INS Arihant for sea trials here.

Tugged gently from its dry-dock base, the 110-metre-long, 11-metre wide vessel can displace 6,000 tonnes of water. Its journey towards the sea is the first step before eventual induction into the Navy that Dr. Singh said marked “years of hard work, dedication and perseverance.”

Aware that India’s entry into the exclusive club will create ripples in the region, the Prime Minister said it was incumbent upon the country to take all necessary steps to keep pace with global advances.

“We do not have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment in our region and beyond that, conducive to our peaceful development and the protection of our value systems. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our country and keep pace with technological advancements worldwide. It has rightly been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” Dr. Singh said in his address.

India, he said, now joined a select group of five countries, which possess the capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine. That the construction of a submarine was a highly demanding task in itself was known, but for a country to develop its first nuclear submarine was a “special achievement.”

The formal launch for sea trials of the platform called a cryptic ‘S2’ lifted the secrecy around the Advanced Technology Vessel Project cleared for implementation by Indira Gandhi in 1984 and whose first step in steel cutting commenced in 1998. To date the project is estimated to have cost Rs. 30,000 crore.

Russian contribution

Both the Prime Minister and Defence Minister A.K. Antony made special mention of the contribution of the Russians in helping India achieve a “historical milestone” in this complex project being implemented under the public-partnership model.

“A giant step”

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta said the nuclear submarine fitted snugly in the nuclear triad envisaged under the country’s doctrine of having a second strike capability. Describing the event as “a giant step,” Admiral Mehta said the Navy wanted to influence a wide area in the Indian Ocean and the nuclear submarine was the apex of that capability.

Director-General of the ATV Project Vice Admiral (retd.) D.S.P. Verma said the submarine would be equipped with anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and sensors.

In an informal interaction with correspondents , Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said India should not be denied the Enrichment and Reprocessing (ENR) rights by the G8 countries.

Dr. Kakodkar said that while the country had the indigenous capability in all aspects of ENR, it should also be given the same rights as other countries.

He said India conducted itself with responsibility and “should have the same benefit of countries with such technology. It [India] should not be targeted.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page