New Delhi:
Russia has been told to take "necessary steps" to ensure that aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov is delivered to India in the last quarter of 2013, the government said on Wednesday.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony said this in the Lok Sabha while admitting that the promised delivery of the aircraft carrier had been considerably delayed.
He said the carrier, to be named Vikramaditya, was to have been delivered originally in August 2008 and then in December this year.
He said it was subjected to extensive trials for the first time for 108 days in June-September this year with a part of the Indian crew on board.
"While a substantial scope of the ship's equipment and aviation trials were completed, the main propulsion plant trials to full power could not be completed due to defects on the boiler section.
"Rectification of the defect is likely to take six months," he said.