Parrikar commissions ICGS Samarth, pitches for local industries

Promoting the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said that the shipyards and major producers should become integrators and take assistance of the local industries.

“The shipyards and major producers should become integrators and they should take assistance of the local industries which have enough capability. Small and medium size industries in India do wonderful job, they have innovation left in them.

Coast Guard as well as Navy will come to its promise,” Parrikar said at the inauguration of ‘ICGS Samarth’ here.

“I congratulate Goa Shipyard Limited for doing excellent work. Goa shipyard is closely but surely showing a way of timely delivery,” he added.

Indian Coast Guard Ship Samarth, the first in the series of six 105m off shore patrol vessels (OPVs), was commissioned by the Defence Minister in the presence of HCS Bisht, AVSM, Director General Indian Coast Guard; Shekhar Mittal (Retd.) CMD, Goa Shipyard Limited; and other senior dignitaries of the Centre and state government.

The ship has been built based on an in-house design and under the supervision of the coast guard headquarters and the local coast guard base. ICGS Samarth will be the biggest ship to join the coast guard fleet. (ANI)