By IANS,
Kochi: Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a warship building facility that will also construct submarines in Kerala’s Kozhikode district.
The National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) at Chaliyam near Beypore in Kozhikode would give a fillip to the indigenisation efforts of the Indian Navy.
The institute would promote self-reliance in building warships, submarines and other related platforms required by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
Speaking on the occasion, Antony said the setting up of the institute would take the country towards self-reliance “in this crucial area of defence technology”.
“Modern naval platforms are complex and technology intensive and hence it is imperative that the country has the technological base and skill sets within, to design and develop them,” he noted.
A part of the Department of Defence Production, the institute will be funded by the defence ministry and all defence shipyards in the country.
The defence minister will head the board of governors as the president, with representations from the ministry, the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard and chairmen of defence shipyards.
Joint Secretary (Naval Systems) in the defence ministry, Gyanesh Kumar, has been concurrently appointed as the director general of NIRDESH.
The land, which was assigned by the Kerala government for NIRDESH near Beypore, has a history of shipbuilding. The wooden ships called Uru, or dhow, built by the local shipbuilders, were used for maritime trade by Arab merchants for centuries.