The Full form of INS is Indian Naval Ship. The naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces is the Indian Navy. The Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy is the President of India. The Chief of Naval Staff who commands the navy is a four-star admiral. The Indian Navy traces its origins back to the East India Company’s Marine which was founded to protect shipping of the British merchants in the region in 1612.
The British East India Company established its rule over Bengal (the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent) in 1793, but it was not until 1830 that the colonial navy was titled as His Majesty’s Indian Navy. In the year 1950, when India became republic, the Royal Indian Navy as it had been named since 1934 was renamed to Indian Navy. The Indian Navy has a fleet of 137 warships, 67,252 personnel in service and has 235 aircrafts as of June 2019.
As of March 2018, the operational fleet consists of 8 landing ship tanks, 11 destroyers, 1 aircraft carrier, 1 amphibious transport dock, 14 frigates, 1 nuclear-powered attack submarine, 15 conventionally-powered attack submarines, 22 corvettes, 1 ballistic missile submarine, 1 mine countermeasure vessel, 4 fleet tankers and various other auxiliary vessels.