Presidential Fleet Review

Context

President Ram Nath Kovind will attend the event, which will see more than 60 ships and submarines, 50 aircraft participating in Visakhapatnam.

About

About President’s Fleet Review:

According to the Navy, the fleet review is a "long-standing tradition followed by navies all across the world" and it is "an assembly of ships at a pre-designated place for the purpose of displaying loyalty and allegiance to the sovereign and the state".
A fleet review is usually conducted once during the tenure of the President.
Defence sources have been quoted as saying that the fleet review is second only to the Republic Day Parade.
Background: The earliest recorded Indian Fleet Review was in the 18th Century by the powerful Maratha fleet, consisting of ‘Ghurabs’ and ‘Gallivats’, under the renowned Sarkhel (Grand Admiral) Kanhoji Angre at the coastal fortress of Ratnagiri.
The exercise was being held in 2020 last, but was cancelled due to the pandemic. It was scheduled to be held at Andaman and Nicobar.

Previous President’s Fleet Review:

Till date, 11 Presidential Fleet Reviews have been conducted since Independence, of which two have been International Fleet Reviews, in 2001 and 2016.
The Indian Navy too has participated in international fleet reviews in other countries, including Australia, America, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, and the UK.
Additionally, this is the second time Visakhapatnam is hosting the President Fleet Review. President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had reviewed the fleet in 2006 in Visakhapatnam.
The last one was done in 2016, under President Pranab Mukherjee.

Significance:

According to the Navy, with the reviewing of ships, the head of the State reaffirms the faith in the fleet and its ability to defend the nation’s maritime interest, and such an exercise is done without any ‘belligerent intentions’.

About Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) 2022:

The theme for PFR 2022 is ‘Indian Navy – 75 years in Service of the Nation’.
At this PFR, more than 60 ships and submarines and 50 aircraft will participate in the review.
Vessels of the Coast Guard, the Shipping Corporation of India, and the National Institute of Ocean Technology, submarines will also participate in the review.
The President is taken on one of the naval ships, which is called the President’s Yacht, to look at all the ships docked on one of the naval ports.
The President’s Yacht this year is an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sumitra, which will lead the Presidential Column.
The yacht will be distinguished by the Ashoka Emblem on her side and will fly the President’s Standard on the Mast.