Work has begun on second indigenous aircraft carrier, says Rajnath Singh

Speaking at the ‘Agenda Aaj Tak’ programme on Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that work has begun on India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier.

File photo of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

By India Today Web Desk: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday that work has begun on India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier after the successful launch of the indigenously built INS Vikrant.

Rajnath Singh was speaking at the ‘Agenda Aaj Tak’ programme when he said this. Talking about INS Vikrant, he said that the country ranks seventh in the world in building an aircraft carrier.

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“When India became Independent not even a needle was manufactured in the country. In 2022, we are building a massive aircraft carrier like INS Vikrant. After the US, UK, France, Germany, China and Japan, India is the only seventh country that can build an aircraft carrier,” Singh said.

He further added that work has begun on India’s second aircraft carrier too.

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Speaking at the AajTak event, the minister emphasized that the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier has achieved 73-74 per cent indigenization.

Currently, India operates two aircraft carriers – Russian-built INS Vikramaditya and indigenously built INS Vikrant, a 40,000 tonne vessel.

(with inputs from PTI)