SHRI RAM NATH KOVIND VISITED INS UTKROSH

SHRI RAM NATH KOVIND VISITED INS UTKROSH

Context

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, visiting  Andaman and Nicobar Islands from February 26 to March 1, 2021.

Details

• Shri Ram Nath Kovind visited INS Utkrosh and reviewed a 150 men Tri-Service Guard of Honour by personnel of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC).
• “INS Utkrosh” is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces.
• It is located near naval base INS Jarawa, on Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC)

• It is the first and only Tri-Service theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.
• It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca by increasing rapid deployment of military assets in the islands.
• It is commanded by a three star officer from Navy, under whom officers and men from all three services (Navy, Air Force, Army) work.
• It conducts bi-annual coordinated patrols (CORPATs) with the navies of Thailand and Indonesia, the annual SIMBEX maritime exercise with Singapore, and the biennial Milan multilateral naval exercise.
• It also patrols India's exclusive economic zone to suppress gun running, narcotics smuggling, piracy, and poaching, and conducts maritime surveillance, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).