NEWS

President of India took  part in the Indian Navy’s 12th Presidential Fleet Review

WHAT IS THE PRESIDENT’S FLEET REVIEW?

• In simplest terms, it is the country’s President taking stock of the Navy’s capability
• Showcases all types of ships and capabilities the Navy has
• Takes place once under every President, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces
• President is taken on one of the Naval ships, which is called the President’s Yacht, to look at all the ships docked on one of the Naval ports
• President’s Yacht this year is an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sumitra, which will lead the Presidential Column which is distinguished by the Ashoka Emblem on her side and will fly the President’s Standard on the Mast
• President will be given a 21-gun salute before embarking on the yacht
• The idea is to showcase not all the Navy’s ships, but every type of ship — and the kind of capabilities it has at that time
• President will also be reviewing the Indian Naval Air Arm in a display of spectacular fly-past by several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft

OTHER INFO

• First was conducted in 1953, under Dr Rajendra Prasad
• Next one was done not by the President but by the then Defence Minister, Y B Chavan, in 1964
• The longest gap between reviews was of 12 years — between 1989 (President R Venkatraman) and when 2001 (President K R Narayanan)
• Last one was done in 2016, under President Pranab Mukherjee
• The reviews in 2001 and 2016 were International Fleet Reviews, in which some vessels from other countries also participated
• The Indian Navy too has participated in international fleet reviews in other countries, including Australia, America, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, and the UK.