New Delhi, November 22. General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, Chief of Defence staff visited Coast Guard Headquarters on November 22, 2022 and interacted with ICG officers.
During his visit, he was briefed about the emergence of Indian Coast Guard as a peacetime maritime armed force, as a suitable inter-ministerial body for coordination of maritime safety and security aspects. Further, the flag officer was also apprised about ICG’s duties and functions which are covered in the Coast Guard Act 1978 i.e. safety and protection of artificial islands and offshore terminals, protection of fishermen including assistance at sea, preservation and protection of marine environment, prevention and control of marine pollution, assist customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations, safety of life and property at sea, assistance to scientific community and enforcement of maritime enactment.
The additional responsibilities entrusted post inception such as coordination of offshore security, central coordinating authority for oil spill response, national Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority, Lead Intelligence Agency for coastal and sea borders and Coastal Security in territorial waters etc.
Further, he was briefed about the ICGs vast area of responsibility which extends to 200 nautical miles seaward encompassing about 02 million sq km of exclusive economic zone with 13 coastal states and union territories having 1295 islands. The organisational setup, Force levels, deployment pattern of Coast Guard assets in the Exclusive Economic Zone, operations /exercise conducted including SAR, anti-smuggling, disaster relief and present manpower status were also briefed during the interaction.
He also visited the Control Centre (CC) and was acquainted about CSS network and ICG efforts for electronic surveillance. During his address, the flag officer emphasized on continuous focus on ICG charter and security of MZI.
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