India has launched its first locally built aircraft carrier, which was made at a cost of $2.5 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 45,000-tonne aircraft carrier on Friday, describing it as an “exceptional symbol of self-reliant India”.
Named the INS Vikrant, the vessel is 262 metres long and 62m wide ― about the size of two football fields.
It took 13 years to build. Vikrant means courageous in Hindi.
“Today, India has entered the list of countries that can build such large warships indigenously. Vikrant has infused new confidence,” Mr Modi said at the commissioning ceremony at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi in southern Kerala.
“Vikrant is large and grand, Vikrant is distinct, Vikrant is special. Vikrant is not just a warship, it is the evidence of the hard work, talent, impact and commitment of India of the 21st century,” he said.
With the home-built warship, India has joined the US, UK, Russia, China and France in a select group of countries capable of building such a vessel.
The warship, built with state-of-the-art automation features, can carry 30 fighter jets and helicopters.
Designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, the INS Vikrant has been described as a "floating city".
It has 18 floors and 14 decks, with 2,300 compartments.
The ship can accommodate a crew of nearly 1,600 and also has a 16-bed hospital, two operating theatres and intensive care units.
Two Russian-made aircraft ― a MiG-29K fighter and a Kamov-31 early warning helicopter ― are parked towards the rear end, in the hangar.
The aircraft carrier has been built with 75 per cent indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 micro, small and medium enterprises, boosting India’s domestic defence manufacturing.
“Every part of INS Vikrant has its own merits, a strength, its own development journey. It is a symbol of indigenous potential, indigenous resources and indigenous skills. The steel installed in its airbase is also indigenous,” Mr Modi said.
The warship is named after its predecessor INS Vikrant which played a key role during the 1971 war against Pakistan for the liberation of Bangladesh.
India has one more aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, which is built on a Russian platform but defence forces have been seeking three carriers in all — one in spare besides one each for the two main naval fronts, in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.
Mr Modi also unveiled a new naval ensign.
It replace the colonial ensign that consisted of a St George’s Cross with an Indian flag in one of the corners.
The new ensign consists of a ship anchor and India’s state emblem. The ensign was briefly changed in early 2000s but restored in 2004.
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
HOW TO WATCH
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
Results
5pm: Al Falah – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bshara, Richard Mullen (jockey), Salem Al Ketbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Al Dhafra – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Mualami, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
6.30pm: Al Khaleej Al Arabi – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Hawafez, Adrie de Vries, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Mafraq – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
7.30pm: Al Samha – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Patrick Cosgrave, Ismail Mohammed
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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