Important Facts For Prelims
Project Seabird: INS Kadamba
- 28 Jun 2021
- 3 min read
Why in News
Recently, the Defence Minister visited the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka to review the ongoing infrastructure development under Phase-II of ‘Project Seabird’.
Key Points
- Project Seabird-Phase II:
- Project Seabird involves construction of a naval base over an area of 11,169 acres.
- Phase I comprised construction of a deep-sea harbour, breakwaters dredging, a township, a naval hospital, a dockyard uplift centre and a ship lift. It was completed in 2005.
- Phase-II of Project Seabird was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012. It envisages expanding facilities to house additional warships and set up a new Naval Air Station, among other plans.
- INS Kadamba is currently the third-largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase II.
- The Navy’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is based at Karwar. The base also has the country’s first sealift facility, a unique “shiplift” and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.
- The project involves several technical and environmental challenges.
- Efforts to Boost Self Reliance in Indian Navy:
- More than two-thirds of the Navy's modernisation budget has been spent on indigenous procurement in the last five financial years.
- Out of the 48 ships and submarines, 46 are being inducted through indigenous construction.
- Project 75 (I) envisages indigenous construction of submarines equipped with the state-of-the-art Air Independent Propulsion system at an estimated cost of Rs. 43,000 crore.
- Aircraft Carrier Vikrant, likely to be commissioned in 2022, is a shining example of the Navy's self-reliance efforts.
- The Navy is continuously strengthening India’s relations with its maritime neighbours with its focus on 'SAGAR' (Security & Growth for All in Region).
- From rescuing stranded Indian nationals from affected countries to ferrying-in critical equipment, including oxygen cylinders, from abroad, Indian Navy has worked tirelessly in the fight against Covid-19 (Operation Samudra Setu - I and II).
- SAGAR was launched in 2015. It is India’s strategic vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
