BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that the atomic reactor onboard the INS Arihant submarine has been activated. The vessel is the first homemade nuclear submarine, and will be deployed in the next two years.

A giant stride for India’s homemade technological capabilities, Manmohan Singh hailed the event as a big step in the country’s nuclear development.

110 metres long and 11 metres wide, Arihant is powered by a nuclear reactor of 85 trillion watts. It can carry 95 crew and can go at speeds of 44 kilometres per hour.

It’s also the first nuclear submarine to be built outside the five recognized nuclear powers - the United States, France, Russia, Britain and China. The submarine is now set to undergo sea trials.

Indian media says the submarine can fire long-range ballistic missiles, and could be deployed as far as the South China Sea.

India plans to build another 4 nuclear-powered submarines by 2015.

(Source: CNTV.cn)