Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya was inducted in the Indian Navy, as Russia handed it over in a ceremony at the Arctic port of Severodvinsk on Saturday.
INS Vikramaditya is India's second aircraft carrier and the navy's biggest warship.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony attended the ceremony.
INS Vikramaditya was previously known as the Admiral Gorshkov. It is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier or Project 1143.4 commissioned by the Soviet Navy in 1987. Russia decommissioned it in 1996, as it was too expensive to operate.
In the year 2004, India signed a $947 million deal with Russia to purchase the carries. The deadline was set to be 2008. But the deadline got delayed twice and the final cost India is paying is $2.3 billion.
India has already started taking delivery of MiG-29K naval fighter aircraft for the carrier.
Earliers this year in July, INS Vikramaditya successfully completed its sea trials while in Spetember it successfully carried out its aviation trials.
Induction of INS Vikramaditya is a a game changer for Indian navy and it will strengthen India's maritime power far beyond its shores.
The aircraft carrier will be escorted by other warships during its voyage back home. It is expected to arrive in India by February 2014.
(with inputs from IANS)
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