Indian Coast Guard

India’s territorial waters, comprising its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone, are under the authority of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue organization. It was originally founded on February 1st, 1977 under the Indian Parliament’s Coast Guard Act, 1978. Under the Ministry of Defense, it runs.

The Indian Navy, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs), the Central Armed Police Forces, and the State Police Services all collaborate closely with the Coast Guard.

To offer the country non-military maritime services, the Indian Navy originally suggested the creation of the Indian Coast Guard. India’s internal economy was threatened by seaborne smuggling of products in the 1960s. The Indian Navy was regularly requested by the Indian Customs Department to aid with patrol and interception in the fight against smuggling.

In order to investigate the issue, the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force joined the Nagchaudhuri Committee. The committee determined in August 1971 that it was necessary to police India’s extensive coastline, create an offshore fishing vessel registry to track down unlawful activity, and create a competent and well-equipped force to apprehend vessels carrying out illicit operations. The committee also considered the quantity and type of equipment.

Under the guidelines of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, India had begun a program to acquire the tools and began assigning Indian Navy troops to these anti-smuggling and law enforcement missions by 1973. The Indian Navy felt that the legal aspect of these responsibilities deviated from its primary goal as a military institution. Thus, the then-Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, recommended to the Defence Secretary the creation of a distinct maritime service to carry out those responsibilities and offered the Navy’s aid in its development. The Defence Secretary sent a memorandum to the Cabinet Secretary on August 31, 1974, recommending that the cabinet act on Admiral Kohli’s advice.

As a result, in September 1974, the Indian cabinet established the Khusro Faramurz Rustamji-chaired Rustamji Committee, with participation from the Navy, the Air Force, and the Department of Revenue, to investigate security and law enforcement gaps between the Indian Navy’s roles and those of the national and state police forces. The finding of oil off Bombay High brought even more attention to the requirement for a maritime law enforcement and protection service. On July 31, 1975, the committee issued its recommendation for the Ministry of Defence to establish the Indian Coast Guard. After some fighting in the bureaucracy, the Cabinet Secretary recommended moving the service under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi then decided to defy the Cabinet.

On February 1st, 1977, a temporary Indian Coast Guard was established, with five patrol vessels and two small corvettes transferred from the Navy. The Coast Guard Act, which the Indian parliament approved on August 18, 1978, and which took immediate effect, clearly outlined the responsibilities and activities of the service.

The Indian Navy’s Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath was chosen to serve as the organization’s first Director-General. At the start of the service, Prime Minister Morarji Desai examined the Guard of Honour. Vice Admiral Kamath devised a five-year plan to transform the ICG into a formidable force by 1984, however because to a lack of financial resources, this plan’s full potential was not immediately realized.