INS Vikrant is India's thrust to making defence sector self reliant: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said INS Vikrant is an example of Indian government's thrust to making its defence sector self-reliant and has made the country part of the select group of nations who can indigenously make aircraft carriers.

Modi also unveiled the Indian Navy's new ensign which drops the St George's Cross and incorporates the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Addressing a large gathering at the commissioning ceremony of INS Vikrant, Modi said with the new ensign, the country has shed its colonial past.

Till today Indian Naval flags carried a sign of slavery which has been replaced with a new one inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he said.

Modi also spoke about certain features of the aircraft carrier -- which he described as a floating airfield, a floating town -- and said that power generated in it can light up 5,000 houses.

"INS Vikrant is not a mere war machine but proof of India's skill and talent. It is special, different," Modi said and highlighted the indigenisation efforts behind the massive ship, including the steel that went into its making.