MADE IN INDIA - Vikrant [ Aircraft Carrier ]

The Vikrant [ earlier known as Project 71 Air Defence Ship (ADS) or Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)] is a class of two aircraft carriers which are being built for the Indian Navy. The two vessels are the largest warships and the first aircraft carriers to be designed and built in India. They are being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
Preparations for building the lead vessel of the class, INS Vikrant was started in 2008, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The carrier was floated out of its dry dock on 29 December 2011, and was launched on 12 August 2013.
The scale and complexity of the project caused problems and it delayed the commencement and timeline of construction for the carrier. The aircraft carrier is now scheduled to be fully completed and deployed in service in 2018.

History

In 1989 India announced a plan to replace its ageing British-built aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant [R11] and INS Viraat [R22], with two new 28,000 ton Air Defence Ships [ADS] that would operate the BAE Sea Harrier aircraft.
The first vessel was to replace INS Vikrant, which was set to decommission in early 1997. Construction of the ADS was to start at the Cochin Shipyard (CSL) in 1993 after the Indian Naval Design Organization had translated this design study into a production model. Following the 1991 economic crisis, the plans for construction of the vessels were put on hold indefinitely.

In 1999, then Defense Minister George Fernandes revived the project and sanctioned the construction of the Project 71 ADS. In 2001, CSL released a graphic illustration showing the 32,000-ton STOBAR [ Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery ] design with a pronounced ski jump.
The aircraft carrier project finally received formal government approval in January 2003. By then, design updates were called for a 37,500 ton carrier to operate the MiG-29K. India opted for a three-carrier fleet consisting of one carrier battle group stationed on each seaboard, and a third carrier held in reserve, in order to continuously protect both its flanks, to protect economic interests and mercantile traffic, and to provide humanitarian platforms in times of disasters, since a carrier can provide a self-generating supply of fresh water, medical assistance or engineering expertise to populations in need for assistance.

In August 2006, then Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash stated that the designation for the vessel had been changed from Air Defence Ship [ ADS ] to Indigenous Aircraft Carrier [ IAC ]. The euphemistic ADS had been adopted in planning stages toward off concerns about a naval build-up. Final revisions to the design increased the displacement of the carriers from 37,500 tons to over 40,000 tons. The length of the ship also increased from 252 metres [ 827 ft ] to over 260 metres [ 850 ft ].

INS Vikrant Carrier Discription

Displacement: INS Vikrant 40,000 tonnes
Length:            262 metres (860 ft)
Beam:              60 metres (200 ft)
Draught:          8.4 metres (28 ft)
Depth:             25.6 metres (84 ft)
Decks:             2.5 acres [ 110,000 sq ft; 10,000 m2 ]
Propulsion:     4 General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines,2 shafts 80+ MW
Speed:             28 kn [ 52 km/h ]
Range:             8,000 nmi [ 15,000 km ]
Complement:  1,400 [ including air crew ]
 
Sensors and processing systems:  1 x Selex RAN-40L L-band early warning
Electronic warfare & decoys:       C/D band early air-warning radar.

The first ship of the class, INS Vikrant, displaces about 40,000 metric tons [ 39,000 long tons ], is 262 metres [ 860 ft ] long and has a tailored air group of up to thirty aircraft. The IAC-I features a STOBAR [ Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery ] configuration with a ski-jump. The deck is designed to enable aircraft such as the MiG-29K to operate from the carrier. It will deploy up to 20 fixed-wing aircraft, primarily the Mikoyan MiG-29K and the naval variant of the HAL Tejas Mark 2, besides carrying 10 Kamov Ka-31 or Westland Sea King helicopters. The Ka-31 will fulfill the airborne early warning [ AEW ]role and the Sea King will provide anti-submarine warfare [ ASW ] capability.
The carrier is powered by four General Electric LM2500+ gas turbines on two shafts, generating over 80MW of power. The gearboxes for the carriers were designed and supplied by Elecon Engineering.

Selection of the carrier air group

India considered a number of aircraft for operation from its INS Vikramaditya and the planned indigenous aircraft carrier. India evaluated the Russian Sukhoi Su-33, but chose the lighter Mikoyan MiG-29K as the Vikramaditya was smaller and lacked an aircraft catapult. On 18 January 2010, it was reported that India and Russia were close to signing a deal for 29 MiG-29K fighters to operate from IAC-I. In addition, the navy signed a deal for six naval-variants of the HAL Tejas. In June 2012, Flight Global reported that the Indian Navy was considering the use of Rafale M [ Naval variant ] on the IAC. The Rafale M is almost the same size as the MiG-29K.

Construction
Amongst the first construction problems experienced was the lack of supply of carrier-grade steel due to the inability of Russia to supply the AB/A grade steel. Finally, the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory [ DMRL ] worked with the Steel Authority of India Limited [ SAIL] to create suitable production facilities for the steel in India. The SAIL Steel Plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur and Bokaro has manufactured 26,000 tonnes of three special steels being used for the hull, flight deck and floor compartments of the carrier.

List of all the President's of Republic of India who were awarded with Bharat Ratna.

Rajendra Prasad

First President of Republic of India

 Rajendra Prasad was awarded with Bharat Ratna in the year 1962 [ at the age of 78 ]

Prasad was re-elected to the presidency, becoming the only president to have been twice the office.

Rajendra Prasad [ 3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963 ]  An Indian political leader, lawyer by training, Prasad joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar. A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha of 1931 and the Quit India movement of 1942. Prasad served one term as President of the Indian National Congress from 1934 to 1935. After the 1946 elections, Prasad served as minister of food and agriculture in the central government. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India and served as its provisional parliament.

When India became a Republic in 1950, Prasad was elected its first President by the Constituent Assembly. Following the general election of 1951, he was elected President by the electoral college of the first Parliament of India and its state legislatures. As President, Prasad established a tradition of non-partisanship and independence for the office-bearer, and retired from Congress party politics. Although a ceremonial head of state, Prasad encouraged the development of education in India and advised the Nehru government on several occasions. In 1957, Prasad was re-elected to the presidency, becoming the only president to have been twice the office.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Second President of Republic of India.

 Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was awarded with Bharatratna in the year 1954. [ at the age of 66 ]

 Since 1962, his birthday is celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5 September.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan [ 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975 ] was an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President of India [ 1952–1962 ] and the second President of India from 1962 to 1967.

One of India's best and most influential twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, his academic appointments included the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta (1921–1932) and Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford (1936–1952).

 Among the other important honours he received were the British Knight Bachelor in 1931, although he ceased to use the title "Sir" after India attained independence,member of the German "Order pour le Merite for Arts and Science" in 1954,and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963. He was also awarded the Templeton Prize in 1975 for advocating non-aggression and conveying "love and wisdom for all people."

Radhakrishnan believed that "teachers should be the best minds in the country".

Dr. Zakir Hussain

Third President of Republic of India

Dr. Zakir Hussain was awarded with Bharatratna in the year 1963 [at the age of 66 ]

Dr. Zakir Hussain About this sound pronunciation [ Urdu: ذاکِر حسین‎,] [ February 1897 – 3 May 1969 ] was the 3rd President of India, from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.

 An educationist and intellectual, Hussain was the country's first Muslim president. He previously served as Governor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962 and as Vice President of India from 1962 to 1967.

Zakir Hussain was also co-founder of Jamia Milia Islamia, serving as its Vice Chancellor from 1928. Under Hussain, Jamia became closely associated with the Indian freedom movement.

V. V. Giri

Fourth President of Rebublic Of India

V. V. Giri received India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1975 [ at the age of 81 ]

Varahagiri Venkata Giri [ 10 August 1894 – 23 June 1980 ], commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974. He served as Acting President of India from 3 May 1969 to 20 July 1969,

He was a prolific writer and a good orator. He has written books on 'Industrial Relations' and 'Labour problems in Indian Industry'.

He was elected as the third Vice President of India in 1967. Giri became Acting President of India in May 1969 upon the death in office of President Dr. Zakir Hussain. The official Congress candidate for the presidential election of 1969 was Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. However, Giri filed his papers as an independent candidate and enjoyed the tacit support of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. A third candidate in that election was C D Deshmukh who was supported by right wing opposition parties. In a closely contested election, none of the candidates won an outright majority of the preferential votes. On counting the second preferential votes, Giri emerged the winner. He was sworn in on 28 August 1969 and held office till 28 August, 1974.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Eleventh President of Republic of India

Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has been awarded with the Bharat Ratna in the year 1997 [at the age of 66 ]

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is an Indian scientist and administrator who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Before his term as President, he worked as an Aerospace engineer with Defence Research and Development Organisation  [ DRDO ] and Indian Space Research Organisation  [ ISRO ] Kalam is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. Some scientific experts have however called Kalam a man with no authority over nuclear physics but who just carried on the works of Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

List of all the living Bharat Ratna recipients.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has been awarded with the Bharat Ratna in the year 1997 [at the age of 66 ]

 

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is an Indian scientist and administrator who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Before his term as President, he worked as an Aerospace engineer with Defence Research and Development Organisation  [ DRDO ] and Indian Space Research Organisation  [ ISRO ] Kalam is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. Some scientific experts have however called Kalam a man with no authority over nuclear physics but who just carried on the works of Homi J. Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai.

Amartya kumar Sen

Amartya Kumar Sen has been awarded with the Bharat Ratna in the year 1999 [ at the age of 66 ]

Amartya Kumar Sen (born 3 November 1933), is an Indian economist and a Nobel laureate. He has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, and indexes of the measure of well-being of citizens of developing countries. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his work in welfare economics.

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar has been awrded with the Bharat Ratna in the year 2001 [ at the age of  72 ]

 Lata Mangeshkar (born 28 September 1929) is an Indian singer, and occasional music-composer. She is one of the  most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over seven decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi and Hindi.

She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

C. N. R. Rao

C.N. R.  Rao will be officially awarded with the Bharat Ratna on 4 February 2014 [at the age of  79 ]

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao FRS, also known as C.N.R. Rao (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry. He currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Rao has honorary doctorates from 60 universities from around the world. He has authored around 1,500 research papers and 45 scientific books. He is the recipient of most of the major scientific awards, and is member of all major scientific organisations. On 16 November 2013, the Government of India conferred him Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, making him the fourth scientist after C.V. Raman, Visvesvaraya and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to get the award.

Sachin Tendulkar

 Sachin Tendulkar will be officially awarded with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on 4 February 2014 [ at the age of 40 ] making him the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar [ born 24 April 1973 ] is an Indian former cricketer widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of the modern generation, popularly holds the title "God of Cricket" among his fans . He is also acknowledged as the greatest cricketer of all time. He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a Double Century in a One Day International, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket. In October 2013, he became the 16th player and first Indian to score aggregate 50,000 runs in all recognized forms of cricket.