Antony to lay foundation stone of warship facility in Kerala

KOCHI - Defence Minister A.K. Antony will Tuesday lay the foundation stone of the National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) which would build warships and submarines in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, a statement said.

The institute at Chaliyam near Beypore in Kozhikode would promote self-reliance in producing warships, submarines and other related platforms required by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, said a defence press release issued here Saturday.

The institute would give a fillip to the indigenization efforts of the navy.

NIRDESH will be an autonomous body under the department of defence production and would be funded by the defence ministry. The institute would also receive funds from the four defence shipyards.

Its board of governors would have the defence minister as its president. The other members of the board would include officials of the ministry, navy, coast guard and defence shipyards.

Kerala has contributed to the project by assigning land at Beypore near the site where Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama first landed in India in 1498.