- Overview: The Ministry of Defense has sanctioned the final phase of ‘Project Varsha’, a highly classified, state-of-the-art underground naval base located at Rambilli, south of Visakhapatnam, to house India’s nuclear submarine fleet.
- Key Points:
- Underground Pen Facilities: Features massive subterranean tunnels carved into the Eastern Ghats, capable of sheltering Arihant-class SSBNs from enemy satellite surveillance and preemptive aerial strikes.
- Second-Strike Survivability: Ensures that India’s nuclear retaliatory assets remain completely secure and undetectable while docked.
- VLF Communication Station: Integrated with a cutting-edge Very Low Frequency (VLF) station (INS Kattabomman extension) to communicate securely with deeply submerged submarines.
- Indo-Pacific Bastion: Shifts India’s strategic maritime focus firmly towards the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait, countering the “String of Pearls.”
Source Link: Indian Navy Eastern Naval Command
- Q3. ‘Project Varsha’, a highly strategic infrastructure project of the Indian Navy, is located on the coast of which water body?
- A) Arabian Sea
- B) Gulf of Kutch
- C) Bay of Bengal
- D) Gulf of Mannar
