The Indian Coast Guard will celebrate its 46th Raising Day on February 1 on Tuesday.
It is the youngest force of the defence ministry and from a modest beginning with just seven ships in 1978, it has grown into a formidable force with 158 ships and 70 aircraft.
The force is likely to achieve targeted force levels of 200 ships and 80 aircraft by 2025. As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, Indian Coast Guard hasplayed a significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and enforcing regulations in the maritime zones of India. It has saved 1, 226 lives at sea in the last one year and 11,082 lives since inception which translates into saving one precious life at sea every second day, officials said here on Monday.
In addition, the Coast Guard also saved 339 people in the last one year and overall 12,934 personnel have been rescued till date by the service during various ‘Aid to Civil Authority’ operations.
Despite the restrictions imposed by the ‘COVID-19’ pandemic, Indian Coast Guard has maintained 24x7 vigil in the Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ), by deploying about 50 ships and 12 aircraft daily. One of the primary duties of the Indian Coast Guard is prevention of smuggling through maritime routes. The hawk eye vigil ensured seizure of drugs and contraband worth more than Rs. 11,924 Crore since inception of which more than Rs. 3, 950 Crore worth drugs and contrabands were seized in the last one year alone.
In addition, the maritime force till date has also apprehended more than 13, 354 crew and over 1,568 boats involved in illegal activities in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
It apprehended 40 foreign crew with seven boats in 2021, thereby asserting maritime security and economic sovereignty of our country in our waters. Indian Coast Guard has been a pioneer in inducting indigenous assets which have enabled it to remain operationally active. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian Coast Guard has added five new generation ships and eight Advanced Light Helicopters(ALH) to its fleet.