KARWAR:- President Draupadi Murmu on Sunday visited the Indian Ocean region from the Indian Navy's frontline submarine INS Vaghshir off the west coast. Murmu became the second President to visit the submarine. Earlier, APJ Abdul Kalam became the first President to experience the experience of boarding a submarine in February 2006.
The Indian Navy is developing the Karwar base to serve India's long-term security interests in the Indian Ocean region. Officials said that Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi also boarded the Kalvari-class submarine from the Karwar Naval Base along with President Murmu. The President is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The Presidential Secretariat posted on the internet, “President Draupadi Murmu commissioned the indigenous Kalvari-class submarine of the Indian Navy, INS Vagshir, at the Karwar Naval Base.”
The President, dressed in naval uniform, waved to the naval personnel before boarding the submarine. According to naval officials, INS Vagshir is the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene project, which was inducted into the Navy in January.
It is one of the quietest and most versatile diesel-electric submarines in the world. It is designed to perform a variety of missions, including surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, area surveillance and special operations.
Equipped with wire-guided torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and advanced sonar systems, the submarine features modular construction, allowing for future upgrades such as the integration of air independent propulsion technology.