Today, 17 August, President of India Draupadi Murmu will travel to West Bengal to unveil an advanced stealth frigate and a campaign against addiction during her one-day visit to Kolkata, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Wednesday, 16 August.
At the Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers Limited (GRSE), President Murmu will attend the launching of Vindhyagiri, the sixth ship of the Indian Navy's Project 17A on the Banks of Hooghly in Kolkata.
Vindhyagiri is the sixth ship of the project built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers Limited for the Indian Navy's Project 17A as the first five ships were launched between the years 2019 and 2022 under this project. It is named after a mountain range in Karnataka.
This project will comprise platform management systems, better stealth features, and advanced weapons and sensors. This new project of Vindhyagiri is a symbol of India's determination to embrace its rich Naval heritage while advancing towards better defense capabilities, as stated by the Ministry of Defence.
The ship includes 75 per cent of its parts and systems from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Before being given to the Indian Navy for making it into use, this ship will go through rigorous testing. According to a GRSE official, P17A ships are guided missile frigates that are 149 meters long, have a displacement of 6,670 tonnes, and travel at a speed of 28 knots. Threats from air, surface, and subsurface can be neutralized by these.
Along with this project, the President will also introduce another campaign "My Bengal, Addiction Free Bengal" at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. It is a part of the Brahma Kumaris "Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan".
