(a) whether the Government have developed a plan for undertaking the production of a 20,000 tonne air defence ship;
(b) whether the Government have now plan to undertake production or procure a 30,000 tonne aircraft carrier;
(c) if so, the details thereof;
(d) the shipyards where the preliminary work has been started;
(e) the steps being taken to meet the emerging need of the Navy; and
(f) the progress made to fill up the gap developed due to discarding of INS `Vikrant` and `Virat`?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES)
(a) to (f): Presently, the Indian Navy has one Aircraft Carrier viz. INS Viraat in its service against the requirement of two operational Aircraft Carriers. In May, 1999, the Government had approved the indigenous construction of an Air Defence Ship (ADS) of around 24000 tons displacement at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL), Kochi. Taking into consideration the prevailing security scenario, the Navy have reassessed their requirement and have proposed building a larger (ADS) (approximately 37,500 MT) which is expected to enter service after 2011. This is under active consideration of the Government. In addition to the ADS, a proposal for acquisition of “Admiral Gorshkovâ€, an Aircraft Carrier, from Russia is under consideration of Government. An investment decision on the acquisition of “Admiral Gorshkov†has not yet been taken.