Mann ki Baat: PM Modi congratulates INVS Tarini women team

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the six-member women team of Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini who sailed 22,000 nautical miles in 254 days to circumnavigate the globe.

Addressing the nation on the 44th edition of the monthly radio programme, 'Mann Ki Baat', he said, "These six daughters of India undertook the Navika Sagar Parikrama and in 254 days, they circumnavigated the globe in the INVS Tarini. They returned to India on May 21 and they were welcomed quite vigourously. While sailing over various seas and oceans, they covered 22,000 nautical miles, which is a first of it's kind feat."

The all woman-crew had arrived in Panaji, Goa on May 21 after successfully circumnavigating the globe for eight months. The expedition was covered in five legs, with stopovers at four ports - Fremantle in Australia, Lyttelton in New Zealand, Port Stanley in Falklands and Cape Town in South Africa.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman received the six-member team along with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lamba.The INSV Tarini team, led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, comprised of Lieutenant P. Swathi, Lieutenant Pratibha Jamwal (Air Traffic Control specialists), Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, Sub Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both Education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a naval architect.