UPPSC 2023 Prelims Q25: Which of the following Scorpene Class Submarines was

Q: What is the answer to UPPSC 2023 Prelims Q25?

C. Correct — C, INS Vagir. INS Vagir (S25) was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 23 January 2023. She is the fifth submarine of the Kalvari class — India's Scorpene-design, diesel-electric attack submarines built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai under Project-75 with French collaboration (Naval Group). All four options are Scorpene/Kalvari-class boats, but only Vagir joined the fleet in January 2023.

UPPSC 2023 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 25 of 150

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official UPPSC answer key.

Which of the following Scorpene Class Submarines was commissioned into Indian Navy in January, 2023?

(a)INS Karanj
(b)INS Kalvari
(c)INS Vagir
(d)INS Vela

Answer

Why

Correct — C, INS Vagir. INS Vagir (S25) was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 23 January 2023. She is the fifth submarine of the Kalvari class — India's Scorpene-design, diesel-electric attack submarines built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai under Project-75 with French collaboration (Naval Group). All four options are Scorpene/Kalvari-class boats, but only Vagir joined the fleet in January 2023.

Why the others are wrong

(a)INS Karanj — INS Karanj (S23) is the third boat of the class, commissioned in March 2021 — not January 2023.
(b)INS Kalvari — INS Kalvari (S21) is the FIRST of the class and lends it its name, commissioned back in December 2017.
(d)INS Vela — INS Vela (S24) is the fourth boat, commissioned in November 2021 — earlier than Vagir.

Concept

The Kalvari class is a set of six diesel-electric attack submarines built for the Indian Navy under Project-75, based on France's Scorpene design (Naval Group) and constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai. The boats are named after earlier Indian Navy submarines: Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela, Vagir and Vagsheer.

All four options belong to the same class, so the question turns purely on the commissioning DATE. Anchor the order: Kalvari (2017) → Khanderi (2019) → Karanj (2021) → Vela (2021) → Vagir (Jan 2023) → Vagsheer (later). 'January 2023' = the fifth boat, Vagir.

Key facts

INS Vagir (S25) was commissioned on 23 January 2023 — the 5th Kalvari-class submarine.
The Kalvari class uses the Scorpene design (French Naval Group) under Project-75, built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai.
Commissioning order: Kalvari (2017), Khanderi (2019), Karanj (2021), Vela (2021), Vagir (2023).
These are diesel-electric attack (SSK) submarines, not nuclear-powered.

The Kalvari-class submarine INS Vagir at its launch at Mazagon Dock, draped in the Indian tricolour, with a Yard 11879 banner in the foreground — The fifth Scorpene/Kalvari-class submarine, commissioned 23 January 2023Image: Indian Navy / Wikimedia Commons (GODL-India)

Study next

Project-75 and Project-75I submarine programmesKalvari-class submarines (all six boats and their names)Indian Navy: SSK vs SSN vs SSBN (diesel-electric, nuclear attack, ballistic-missile)INS Arihant and India's nuclear submarine triadMazagon Dock Shipbuilders and indigenous warship building

Common traps

Confusing Vagir (2023) with the first-of-class Kalvari (2017) since the class is named after Kalvari.
Assuming Scorpene-class boats are nuclear-powered — they are diesel-electric (conventional).

UPPSC/UPSC test defence current affairs by asking to match a named Indian Navy vessel to its class, role or commissioning year — track new commissionings by name AND date.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2009_GS1_Q82009Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements: 1. INS Sindhughosh is an aircraft carrier. 2. INS Viraat is a submarine. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer(d) Neither 1 nor 2 — INS Sindhughosh is a submarine and INS Viraat was an aircraft carrier, so both statements are mislabelled.

Same testing pattern — identifying Indian Navy vessels (including a submarine) by name and type, the defence-GK skill this Scorpene question rewards.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The Kalvari-class submarines of the Indian Navy are based on which foreign design?
- (a)Scorpene (France)
- (b)Kilo (Russia)
- (c)Type 214 (Germany)
- (d)Collins (Australia)
Answer(a) Scorpene (France) — built at Mazagon Dock under Project-75 with France's Naval Group.
practice — not a real PYQ
INS Vagir, commissioned in January 2023, is which type of vessel?
- (a)Aircraft carrier
- (b)Diesel-electric attack submarine
- (c)Nuclear ballistic-missile submarine
- (d)Guided-missile destroyer
Answer(b) Diesel-electric attack submarine — the fifth Scorpene/Kalvari-class (SSK) boat.