Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said three indigenously built naval vessels commissioned into the Indian Navy on Sunday symbolised “India’s self-reliance resolve”, declaring that the country “does not want to remain a mere purchaser in the defence sector” and was steadily building its own maritime and manufacturing capabilities.The PM commissioned the naval vessels at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, declaring that a nation’s development and security are inseparable from its maritime strength, and that India’s growing self-reliance in shipbuilding would make the nation a decisive player in maritime geopolitics.“A nation’s economic and strategic influence is directly linked to the strength of its maritime prowess…The day India becomes a Nirmata (creator) it will also become a Nirnayak (decider),” he said.The three ships — stealth frigate INS Dunagiri, survey vessel INS Sanshodhak and anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft INS Agray — were designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Kolkata-based defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, with more than 200 MSME units involved in their construction.“No nation can emerge as a major power without strong maritime capabilities. Development, security and prosperity are closely linked to the oceans,” Modi said, noting that most global trade moves through sea routes, vast data networks run beneath the oceans, and future sources of critical minerals and energy will increasingly be tied to the maritime domain.Modi pointed to the scale of India’s naval shipbuilding programme — over 40 warships and submarines commissioned in recent years, with 45 large naval platforms currently under construction. “This is not just a number but a testimony of India’s manufacturing power. The maritime sector has the capacity to create lakhs of jobs in the years to come,” he said.The Indian Navy described Dunagiri — the fifth ship of the P17 Alpha class — as a next-generation stealth frigate combining speed, endurance, advanced sensors and lethal weapons, including BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles and the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile system.Sanshodhak, the fourth large survey vessel of its kind, is designed for coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys and oceanographic data collection for defence and civilian use. Agray, India’s latest anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, is equipped with lightweight torpedoes and indigenous rocket launchers.He also pointed to the Rs 70,000 crore incentive package announced for the shipping sector as “not merely an economic measure but an investment in India’s maritime future and industrial expansion.”
