Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday congratulated the Indian Navy, the Naval design bureau, and Cochin Shipyard for the commissioning of the first indigenously designed and manufactured aircraft carrier and termed it a significant step for the country's maritime security.

"Many congratulations to the Indian Navy, the Naval Design Bureau, and Cochin Shipyard for the many years of hard work that has made the vision of INS Vikrant come true. India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier, Vikrant is a significant step for India's maritime security," Gandhi said on Twitter while sharing a picture of the aircraft carrier.

India launched its maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioning the warship that put India into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

Modi unveiled a plaque to mark the induction of INS Vikrant, named after its predecessor that played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, into the Navy.

With Vikrant's induction, India has joined a select club of nations such as the US, the UK, Russia, China, and France in having niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier.

(Inputs from PTI)