PM Modi hands over Made-in-India patrol vessel, to Seychelles for maritime security
India handed over an indigenously built Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), PS LESPWAR, to the Seychelles Coast Guard, marking a significant step in bilateral maritime...
What Happened
- India handed over an indigenously built Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), PS LESPWAR, to the Seychelles Coast Guard, marking a significant step in bilateral maritime defence cooperation.
- The vessel was presented during a high-level bilateral summit, with India also gifting six ambulances, ten utility vehicles, and five laser radial boats to Seychelles.
- India and Seychelles announced 19 bilateral outcomes aimed at deepening maritime, defence, and development cooperation.
- The handover was framed under India's Vision MAHASAGAR — India's evolved maritime doctrine for the Indian Ocean and beyond.
- This is the latest in a series of Indian defence equipment transfers to small island states in the Indian Ocean, reflecting India's role as a net security provider in the region.
Static Topic Bridges
SAGAR Doctrine (Security and Growth for All in the Region)
SAGAR is India's strategic framework for engagement in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), introduced in 2015 during a visit to Mauritius. It positions India as a net security provider to smaller island and coastal states, offering maritime domain awareness, capacity building, humanitarian assistance, and naval cooperation.
- Full form: Security and Growth for All in the Region
- Launched: 2015 (Mauritius visit)
- Key pillars: maritime domain awareness (MDA), humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR), naval diplomacy, defence capacity building
- Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR): Established in 2018 in Gurugram; facilitates real-time maritime information sharing with 28 partner nations and international liaison officers.
- SAGAR positions India to counter growing external maritime presence in the IOR.
Connection to this news: The patrol vessel handover to Seychelles is a direct implementation of the SAGAR doctrine — building Seychelles' Coast Guard capacity to patrol its own Exclusive Economic Zone.
Vision MAHASAGAR — India's Evolved Maritime Strategy
Introduced in March 2025 during a visit to Mauritius, MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) represents an evolution of SAGAR from a regional Indian Ocean focus to a broader global maritime vision, with emphasis on the Global South.
- Full form: Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions
- Launched: March 2025 (Mauritius)
- Builds on SAGAR but extends to Southeast Asia, South Pacific, West Asia, and East Africa.
- Additional thematic pillars: climate change, renewable energy, supply chains, and broader security exercises.
- Reflects India's ambition to transition from a regional maritime power to a global maritime leader.
- MAHASAGAR in Hindi and several Indian languages means "ocean" — contrasting with SAGAR ("sea"), signifying expanded geographic and strategic ambition.
Connection to this news: The Seychelles handover was explicitly framed under Vision MAHASAGAR, embedding a bilateral gift within India's larger strategic communication of expanded oceanic leadership.
India-Seychelles Bilateral Relations
Seychelles is a small island state of approximately 100,000 people in the western Indian Ocean. It holds strategic importance for India given its location astride critical maritime trade routes and its large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of approximately 1.37 million sq km.
- India and Seychelles share historical links, including a large population of Indian-origin residents in Seychelles.
- India has previously donated patrol vessels to Seychelles (e.g., CGS Topaz in 2014).
- The Assumption Island project: India signed a 2018 agreement to develop an airstrip and jetty on Assumption Island for Seychelles Coast Guard operations, subsequently renegotiated.
- Colombo Security Conclave: Seychelles is an observer; India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius are members.
- India has also previously handed over the hydrographic survey vessel CGS Topaz and other assets to Seychelles.
- Bilateral cooperation spans coast guard training, hydrographic surveys, and maritime domain awareness.
Connection to this news: The 19 outcomes announced and the vessel handover deepen an already robust defence partnership, with India positioning itself as Seychelles' preferred security partner over other external powers.
India's Defence Exports and the 'Made in India' Push
India has set an ambitious target of achieving Rs 50,000 crore (approximately USD 6 billion) in defence exports by 2029, as part of the broader Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative. Fast patrol vessels, radars, ammunition, and helicopters are among India's growing export product categories.
- India's defence export target: Rs 50,000 crore by 2029
- India's Ordnance Factories, HAL, BEL, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), and Goa Shipyard are key public sector exporters.
- Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) are typically small, high-speed coast guard craft used for EEZ monitoring, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, and search-and-rescue operations.
- India has transferred defence equipment to Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and several African nations.
- Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 prioritises 'Make in India' categorisation for all procurement.
Connection to this news: PS LESPWAR is a made-in-India patrol vessel, directly reflecting India's defence export ambitions and its strategy of capacity-building diplomacy in the Indian Ocean.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and UNCLOS
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982) defines the rights and duties of nations with respect to oceanic territory. An EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from a country's baseline, granting exclusive rights to exploit marine resources.
- UNCLOS adopted: 1982; in force: 1994
- EEZ: 200 nautical miles; rights over fisheries, mineral resources, and energy production.
- Seychelles' EEZ: approximately 1.37 million sq km — one of the largest relative to land area globally.
- India's EEZ: approximately 2.37 million sq km.
- UNCLOS also defines the continental shelf (up to 350 nautical miles in eligible cases) and rights over its resources.
- India is a signatory to UNCLOS.
Connection to this news: Seychelles' need for a patrol vessel is directly tied to the challenge of monitoring its vast EEZ with limited national resources — the vessel enhances its capacity for UNCLOS-compliant maritime law enforcement.
Key Facts & Data
- Vessel handed over: PS LESPWAR (Fast Patrol Vessel, indigenously built in India)
- Recipient: Seychelles Coast Guard
- Additional gifts: 6 ambulances, 10 utility vehicles, 5 laser radial boats
- Total bilateral outcomes announced: 19
- SAGAR launched: 2015 (Mauritius)
- MAHASAGAR launched: March 2025 (Mauritius)
- IFC-IOR established: 2018, Gurugram; 28 partner nations
- Seychelles EEZ: ~1.37 million sq km
- India's defence export target: Rs 50,000 crore by 2029
- UNCLOS in force: 1994