Navy to Commission ASW Shallow Water Craft Mangrol at Mumbai

The correct answer is Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi. Mangrol is the third shallow water craft for anti-submarine warfare delivered by that yard, and it will be commissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, with the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command presiding. Options A, B and D name other Indian defence shipyards, each of which builds warships for the Navy, but none of them built this craft. Candidates should connect the builder with two other facts from the same announcement: the ship has more than 80 per cent indigenous content, and it was constructed under the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Note also that the commissioning port, Mumbai, is different from the yard that built the ship, a distinction examiners like to test.

The correct answer is Abhay, the hull-mounted sonar that lets the craft pick up submarines in coastal and shallow waters. Option C is the trap in this question: Maareech is indeed carried by the ship, but it is the Advanced Torpedo Decoy System used for self-protection, not a sonar. Options A and D are wrong in this context, as the announcement named only Abhay as the hull-mounted sonar. Along with the sonar, the craft carries lightweight torpedoes and an indigenous anti-submarine rocket launcher, and it is driven by three diesel engines with waterjet propulsion, an arrangement that allows tight manoeuvring in shallow seas. The combination of these sensors and weapons is what makes the ship suited to hunting submarines close to the coast, where larger warships are limited.

The correct answer is Gujarat. Mangrol is a coastal town and a well-known fishing harbour in the Junagadh district of that state, and the Navy has used the name before: the minesweeper INS Mangrol, with the pennant M85, served until April 2004. Naming a new ship after a retired one is a standing practice in the Navy, meant to carry a vessel’s legacy forward. Option A is wrong, though Mumbai in Maharashtra is where the commissioning ceremony will be held. Option B is wrong, yet Kochi in Kerala is where the ship was built, so the two states are easy to confuse here. Option D is simply not connected with this ship. Aspirants should keep the three places apart: Gujarat for the name, Kerala for the builder and Maharashtra for the commissioning.

The correct answer is B. More than four-fifths of the craft is of Indian origin, and it is propelled by three diesel engines that drive waterjets, which gives it the agility needed in shallow waters. Option A is wrong because Mangrol is a surface craft designed to hunt submarines, not a submarine itself. Option C is wrong because it is a small shallow water craft, not an aircraft carrier, although it will indeed serve under the Western Naval Command after being commissioned at Mumbai. Option D is wrong because the ship joins the Indian Navy and its role is anti-submarine warfare, along with underwater surveillance, low-intensity maritime operations and mine warfare related tasks. Its job is to protect ports, harbours and coastal approaches while working alongside patrol aircraft, helicopters and other warships.