India's first home built submarine INS Kalavari handed over to Indian Navy, Narendra Modi to commission it soon

For the first time in 22 years, India’s first ingenuously built INS Kalavari submarine has been handed over to the Indian Navy on Thursday, reported CNN-News18. INS Kalavari, a diesel electric attack submarine, is a Scorpene-class submarine and is the first of the six submarines being built in India under Project-75 by Mazagon Docks Limited with a technology transfer from France’s DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales Services), a naval shipbuilder, according to  The Hindu.  [caption id=“attachment_3501725” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. CNN-News18[/caption] Kalavari, which is named after the tiger shark, is a stealth submarine and is difficult to be detected by the enemy. It weighs 1,550 tonnes and is equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for launching anti-ship torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and sea mines according to The Diplomat. It is slated to be commissioned to the Indian Navy very soon by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported CNN-News18.  INS Kalavari’s induction will be a landmark milestone in India’s bid to build its underwater warfare capabilities with an eye on China and Pakistan, says  The Diplomat.  DCNS was awarded the $4.16 billion contract to build the submarines in cooperation with Mazagon Docks Limited in 2005. The second Scorpene submarine INS Khanderi was launched in January 2017 after the ghost of a data leak which threatened to derail the project in August 2016. The Scorpene leak saw 22,400 documents expose secret stealth capabilities of the submarines, diving depths, and specifications of torpedo launch systems among other details, reported  Hindustan Times. A preliminary investigation later revealed the leak took place at the French office of DCNS and not in India, according to  The Hindu.