The Government has taken various steps to engage maritime forces of friendly nations at multiple levels. The Indian Navy conducts staff talks with 18 navies and Executive Steering Group (ESG) meetings with two more. The Indian Coast Guard has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Coast Guards and maritime agencies of 5 friendly countries for combating transnational crime, sharing of search and rescue information and pollution response. In addition, Indian Navy also conducts hydrographic courses for personnel of friendly nations at National Institute of Hydrography (NIH), Goa, National Hydrographic office, Dehradun and onboard naval ships.
A large number of initiatives have been undertaken by the Government to strengthen maritime and coastal security, which inter-alia include setting up of Joint Operation Centres, establishing a National Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (NC3I) Network, creation of a specialized force Sagar Prahari Bal and setting up chain of 46 static sensors for coastal security. All the above initiatives taken by the Government aim at protecting and utilizing the vast maritime resources for the development of the country.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shri B.N Chandrappa in Lok Sabha today.
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