New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to commission India’s second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Arighat, at a ceremony in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The event will be attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, head of India's strategic command, and senior officials from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The commissioning of the 6,000-tonne INS Arighat, also known as S-3, marks a significant step in enhancing India’s nuclear deterrence and second-strike capability. The submarine is expected to embark on a long-range patrol in the Indo-Pacific region, armed with K-15 nuclear ballistic missiles with a range of 750 kilometers. This development strengthens India's nuclear triad, which already includes land-based and air-launch nuclear capabilities.

India’s first SSBN, INS Arihant (S-2), is already operational. With the addition of INS Arighat, India will now have two SSBNs patrolling the high seas. These submarines are crucial to India’s no-first-use nuclear policy, providing a robust second-strike capability.

In addition to the SSBN fleet, the Indian Navy has approached the Narendra Modi government for approval to build two nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines (SSNs). Unlike diesel-electric submarines (SSKs), which need to surface frequently to recharge batteries, SSBNs and SSNs can remain submerged for extended periods, with limitations only due to logistics, supplies, and crew changes.

India's third SSBN, INS Aridaman (S-4), is scheduled for commissioning next year, followed by a fourth submarine, codenamed S-4. These submarines will be more advanced, capable of carrying 3,000-kilometer range nuclear ballistic missiles, and will feature additional missile tubes.

The Indian Navy is also set to enhance its operational capabilities with the commissioning of several new vessels, including the guided missile stealth destroyer INS Surat, the stealth guided missile frigate INS Taragiri, and the sixth Kalvari-class attack submarine INS Vagsheer, all expected within the next six months. Further orders for three more Kalvari-class submarines are anticipated to be placed with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd later this year.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday appealed to the Bangladesh interim government to ensure the atrocities on the Hindus are stopped and ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das is released from jail immediately.

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in a statement also appealed to the Indian government to continue its efforts to stop the atrocities on the Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and take necessary steps to build global opinion in its support "as soon as possible".

"The attacks, murders, looting, arson as well as inhuman atrocities by Islamic fundamentalists on Hindus, women and all other minorities in Bangladesh are extremely worrying and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh condemns this," he said.

Instead of stopping this, the present Bangladesh government and other agencies are only silent spectators, Hosabale said.

"Out of helplessness, a new phase of injustice and atrocities seems to be emerging against the Hindus of Bangladesh to suppress the voice raised by them in a democratic way for self-defense," the RSS general secretary said.

"It is unjust for the Bangladesh government to send ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is leading the Hindus in such peaceful demonstrations, to jail," he added

Bangladesh Police earlier on Monday arrested International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area in Dhaka while he was travelling to Chittagong.

"The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh appeals to the Bangladesh government to ensure that the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh stop immediately and release Shri Chinmoy Krishna Das from imprisonment," Hosabale said.

"The RSS also appeals to the Indian government to continue its efforts to stop the atrocities on Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and take necessary steps as soon as possible to build global opinion in its support," he added.

At this crucial time, the RSS general secretary said, India and the global community and institutions should stand with the victims of Bangladesh and express their support, and demand that their respective governments make every possible effort to ensure that atrocities on the Hindus and other minorities are stopped in Bangladesh immediately.

This is necessary for world peace and brotherhood, he added.