Navy to upgrade base at Minicoy in Lakshadweep

New Delhi, March 2

The Navy is set to upgrade its detachment at Minicoy, Lakshadweep, to full a naval base and name it INS Jatayu on March 6. The move marks Navy’s resolve to incrementally augment security infrastructure at Lakshadweep, which is a strategically important archipelago in the Arabian Sea.

INS Jatayu will be the second naval base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti. Minicoy is the southernmost island of Lakshadweep, which straddles the vital Sea Lines of Communications in the Arabian Sea. A naval detachment was set up at Minicoy in the early 1980s under the operational command of the Naval Officer-in-Charge, Lakshadweep. With the commissioning of INS Jatayu, the Navy will strengthen its foothold in Lakshadweep.