The ship was commissioned into the Royal Indian Navy as HMIS "Delhi" under the command of Captain H. N. S. Brown of the Royal Navy on 5 July 1948 by the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom V. K. Krishna Menon. Captain Brown was also serving as Commodore Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (COMINS). She had 17 British officers and petty officers, the rest of the crew being Indian. Commander Ram Dass Katari was her executive officer and the senior-most Indian officer, while Lieutenant Commander Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda was her first lieutenant. On her way to India, she called at Portsmouth, Portland, Gibraltar and Malta. The Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru himself welcomed the ship at Bombay on 16 September 1948. She conducted her first major goodwill cruise in 1948, to East Africa, the Seychelles, and Mauritius.