Hon'ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh visited Indian Navy’s Southern Naval Command at Kochi from 20-21Jun 2023. He celebrated the International Day of Yoga with the Armed Forces personnel and their families onboard the indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant. During the visit, the Raksha Mantri also attended the commemorative function on the eve of World Hydrography Day hosted onboard Indian Navy’s indigenously built survey ships and inaugurated the Integrated Simulator Complex (ISC) 'Dhruv' at Naval Base, Kochi.
Commemorating World Hydrography Day, the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri unveiled navigation charts of Mauritius and the inner harbour of Port Blair at a ceremony onboard the indigenously built survey ships of the Indian Navy INS Jamuna, INS Sarvekshak and INS Investigator, on 20 Jun 2023. The event was hosted by Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff. VAdm Adhir Arora, Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India, VAdm Krishna Swaminathan, Controller of Personnel Services, RAdm J Singh, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command and other Senior Officers, and officers and sailors of Indian Navy’s Hydrography branch were also present on the occasion. A film highlighting the history and contributions of the Indian Hydrographic Department and its role in ensuring safe navigation, sustainable development and protection of the marine environment was shown. An exhibition of various survey equipment and foreign cooperation survey undertaken by the Indian Navy was also displayed. The survey ships of the Indian Navy are equipped with advanced technology, state of the art equipment and have been actively involved in mapping the vast IOR including ports and offshore infrastructures. On this occasion, the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri also interacted with the foreign trainees of Nigeria, Ghana, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who are presently undergoing training at the National Institute of Hydrography, Goa.
