Questions on a Make-in-India carrier

The new INS Vikrant is reason to celebrate. But it also raises tough questions for India's military and political leaderships

The commissioning of the INS Vikrant, the new avatar of the Indian Navy’s first aircraft carrier and flag-carrier for almost five decades, is a day of celebration for India — and for good reason.

At about three times the original (42,800 tonnes versus 16,000 tonnes), it isn’t just the biggest warship designed and built in India. It is also fully a swadeshi design.

That’s a matter of great pride because it places India among an elite list of nations with the ability to build such a warship — a list so elite that you can mostly count it on the