Indian Navy Day | 06 Dec 2021

Why in News

Every year, Indian Navy Day is celebrated on 4^th December to respect the Indian Navy’s counter-attack in Operation Trident during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The Indian Navy was established in 1612 by the East India Company.
  • This year, the Navy plans to celebrate the theme Swarnim Vijay Varsh to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of India’s victory in the 1971 war.
• Operation Trident:
  
  • It was a counter-attack by the Indian Navy on the Karachi harbour during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.
  • India used anti-ship missiles for the first time during this operation and destroyed the Pakistani destroyer ship PNS Khaibar.
  • The Indian Navy's three warships - INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer - played an important role in the attack.
• Indian Navy:
  
  • It is headed by the President of India as its Supreme Commander.
  • Indian Navy’s Motto is - Sam no Varunah (शं नो वरूण‌:) that means that the God of water, Varuna, should be auspicious unto us.
  • Some of the earliest operations of the Indian Navy include its contribution in liberating Goa from Portugal in 1961.
  • The Navy has developed as an admirable force with the making of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant and several other ships.
  • The Indian Navy currently has one aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya which was a former Russian ship that was commissioned into service in 2013.
  • It operates three classes of submarines: Chakra (it has the nuclear-powered INS Chakra) , Sindhughosh and Shishumar.
  • The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 1 named INS Vikrant has recently (2021) started sea trials (one of the last phases of trials).
  • Marine Commandos or MARCOS is the special force unit of the Indian Navy, trained to conduct amphibious warfare, counter-terrorism, special reconnaissance, hostage rescue and asymmetric warfare.
  • They were the first to respond to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Source: PIB