Why INS Jatayu, India’s new naval base in Lakshadweep, matters

News Snapshot:

On Wednesday (March 6), Naval Detachment Minicoy will be commissioned as INS Jatayu, an upgraded naval base, marking an important milestone in the Indian Navy’s resolve to incrementally augment security infrastructure at the strategic Lakshadweep Islands. While India has had a naval detachment in Minicoy, the southernmost atoll of the Lakshwadeep archipelago, since the 1980s, INS Jatayu will effectively be the country’s second naval base in Lakshadweep. The Navy’s first base on the islands, INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti, was commissioned in 2012. INS Jatayu will be commissioned days after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius jointly inaugurated...