Indian Navy acquires deep submarine rescue capabilities
New Delhi, Oct 13: Enhancing its operational capabilities, the Navy has inducted its first deep submergence rescue vehicle which is deployed to rescue downed or disaster-struck submarines at high sea.
Navy Spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said that with induction of the deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV), India has joined a select group of countries that have the capability to locate and rescue "distressed submarines".
At present, the US, China, Russia and a few other countries have the capabilities to deploy DSRVs.
"Indian Navy joins select league of nations with capability to search, locate and provide rescue to distressed submarines by induction of first Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel(DSRV) and associated kit in fly away configuration," he said.
Though DSRVs are used for rescue of personnel in downed submarines, they are also deployed for various other missions including to lay cables on the sea bed.
Some DSRV vessels are air transportable in very large military cargo.
Capt Sharma said the DSRV which was inducted can be mobilised from the naval base in Mumbai to nearest mounting port by air, land and sea.
The second DSRV is expected to be inducted at Visakhapatnam in 2019.
"The DSRV can be mobilised from Naval base at Mumbai to nearest mounting port by air/ land or sea for providing rapid rescue to the submarine in distress," the Navy spokesperson said.
Indian Navy sources said induction of the DSRV was part of the Navy's efforts to enhance operational capabilities when China has been ramping up its maritime presence in critical sea lanes which are of strategic importance to India.
Last year, the Indian Navy operationalised a new concept of deployment of warships in the Indian Ocean region to effectively counter China's growing presence in the strategically key waters
The "new mission-based deployment" involves deploying mission-ready ships and aircraft along critical sea lanes of communications.
A much-awaited system to locate and evacuate our distressed submariners. Before this, we had to rely on an arrangement where the US would fly out a kit on request - crucial hours would be lost. https://t.co/rLUt8Xi2ls
— Jugal R Purohit (@jugalrp) October 13, 2018
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
