Pariksha SaathiVice-President commissions INS Samarthak, the Navy's first indigenous Multi-Purpose Vessel, at Karwar
Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan commissioned INS Samarthak, the Indian Navy's first indigenous Multi-Purpose Vessel, at Karwar in Karnataka on 16 October 2026. The vessel has more than 75 per cent indigenous content and was built by Larsen & Toubro, whose contribution the Vice-President acknowledged along with that of naval designers, shipyard professionals, suppliers and ancillary industries. It will serve as a platform for trials and evaluation of next-generation weapons, sensors and emerging technologies, and will also support maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, offshore patrolling, launch and recovery of targets, operations with unmanned systems, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The Vice-President described Karwar's deep natural harbour as a vital part of India's maritime security architecture and referred to the naval infrastructure being built there under Project Seabird. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Commander Sushil Kumar Singh, the ship's commanding officer, were present.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Karwar in Karnataka hosts INS Kadamba, the naval base built under Project Seabird; its first phase was commissioned on 31 May 2005, and later phases are expanding it into one of the largest naval bases in the region. The Indian Navy is headed by the Chief of the Naval Staff and observes Navy Day on 4 December, marking Operation Trident of 1971. A commissioning ceremony is when a ship formally enters naval service and gains the prefix INS (Indian Naval Ship).
Reference: Indian Navy official website
Check yourself: does INS Samarthak belong to a public-sector shipyard?
No. The release credits Larsen & Toubro, a private shipbuilder, and the Vice-President spoke of the growing role of India’s private shipbuilding industry.
Revision task: from this release, note the ship’s roles (trials platform, surveillance, patrolling, unmanned-system operations, HADR), its indigenous content and the base, and keep them apart from the standing facts about Karwar and the Navy above.
Test yourself
INS Samarthak, the Indian Navy's first indigenous Multi-Purpose Vessel, was commissioned on 16 October 2026 at which naval base?
Show the answer
Answer: Karwar, Karnataka
The Vice-President commissioned INS Samarthak at Karwar, Karnataka; the vessel, built by Larsen & Toubro, has more than 75 per cent indigenous content.
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