Rajnath Singh to attend commissioning ceremony of INS Tushil in Russia next week

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest at the commissioning ceremony of the Indian Navy warship INS Tushil set to be held in Russia on December 9.

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will be present at the commissioning ceremony, according to Navy officials. The warship has been built by a Russian shipyard and is fitted with a high number of indigenous anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles along with various other equipment.

Indian Navy has announced that INS Tushil will strenthen the arsenal of the Indian Navy on December 9.

In a post shared on X, Indian Navy stated, “INSTushil – New Sentinel of the Seas Unveiling the crest of Indian Naval Ship Tushil, displaying an emblem of status, power and identity. Set to strengthen the arsenal of the #IndianNavy on #09Dec, this mighty guardian is ready to uphold #India’s Maritime Legacy.”

In October 2021, the 7th Indian Navy Frigate of P1135.6 class was launched at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad in Russia in presence of then-India’s Ambassador to Russia, D Bala Venkatesh Varma, and senior dignitaries of Russia and officials of the Indian Navy. During the ceremony, the ship was formally named as ‘Tushil’ by Datla Vidya Varma. Tushil is a Sanskrit word meaning Protector Shield, according to Ministry of Defence’s earlier press release.

Based on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between the governments of India and Russia for construction of two ships of Project 1135.6 ships in Russia and two ships in India at M/s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), the contract for construction of two ships was signed between India and Russia on October 18.

The construction of these ships is based on Indian Navy’s specific requirements to meet the entire spectrum of naval warfare in all three dimensions of Air, Surface and Sub-surface, according to Ministry of Defence’s earlier press release.

Rajnath Singh’s visit to Russia comes months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow. Earlier in October, PM Modi visited Russia’s Kazan for a two-day visit to attend the BRICS Summit. He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin, the people of Russia and their government for their hospitality.

Earlier in July, PM Modi travelled to Moscow to participate in the 22nd Russia-India Summit. It was PM Modi’s first bilateral visit after resuming office for the third time. During his visit, PM Modi was also conferred with Russia’s highest national award “The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle” for his contribution to fostering India-Russia ties.