All you want to know about the Indian Coast Guard

Hello lads, hope you are hale and hearty.

In this particular blog, we are basically going to tell you everything you want to know about the Indian Coast Guard. The Indian Coast Guard is basically a dedicated marine force which enforces maritime law and security over the territorial waters of India.

The organization is basically operated under the Ministry of Defence (MOD) like the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Coast Guard moreover works in close coordination with the Indian Navy, the department of fisheries, the Customs and Central and State police forces.

The current Director General of Indian Coast Guard is Rajendra Singh.

As we proceed further to the blog we will discuss each and everything about this force.

How this force was raised? What was the need?

• The need for the establishment of the Indian Coast Guard was basically first proposed by the Navy to provide non- military maritime service to the nation.
• The reason behind its raising was basically the seaborne smuggling which was turmoil to the Indian economy.
• To counter this problem the customs department called the Navy for assistance with patrol and interception of smuggling.
• Thus to fill the gap between the Customs department, central and state police the govt. agreed upon raising the force we know today as Indian Coast Guard.
• The Indian Coast Guard came into existence on 1^st February 1977, equipped with two corvettes and five patrol boats.
• This is the reason every year on 1^st February we celebrate the Coast Guard Day.
• Vice Admiral V A Kamath of the Indian Navy was appointed as the founding Director General of the force.

Current duties of Indian Coast Guard:

The motto of the Indian Coast Guard is “Vayam Rakshamah” which in Sanskrit means “We protect”.

The current duties of the Indian Coast Guard are as follows:

• Safety and protection of artificial islands, offshore terminals, and other installations.
• Protection and assistance to fishermen and mariners at sea
• Preservation and protection of marine ecology and environment.
• Assistance to the department of customs.
• Law enforcement in territorial as well as international waters.
• National defense during hostilities.
• Lead intelligence agency for coastal and sea border.

The ranks of the Indian Coast Guard:

Following is the rank structure of commissioned officers in Indian Coast Guard:

  The other personnel in the Indian Coast Guard either serve as yantriks (technicians) or naviks (sailor).

Headquarters and Regions of Indian Coast Guard:

• The Headquarter of the Indian Coast Guard is basically located in New Delhi headed by the Director-General.
• He is basically assisted by four Deputy Director Generals of the rank of Inspector General and other senior officers.
• The current Director-General is Rajendra Singh.
• The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to the rank of Vice-Admiral in the Navy.
• The Indian Coast Guards currently operates five regions.
• Each region is headed by an officer of the rank Inspector General.
• The regions under the coast guard are as follows:

• By the end of 2012, the Indian Coast Guard is on track to operate:
• 42 Coast Guard Stations, 5 Coast Guard Air Stations and 10 Coast Guard Air Enclaves.
• The number of serving personnel in the Indian Coast Guard is around 15,714.

How to join Indian Coast Guard:

To be a part of this wonderful force we can apply on the website of Indian Coast Guard www.joinindiancoastguard.gov.in

The recruitment took place twice in a year for officers, yantriks, and naviks.

For Officers the procedure is similar to the SSB, likewise, there is Preliminary Selection Board (PSB) that is Screening and after that the Final Selection Board (FSB) including psychology, interview, and Group tasks.

After the selection, the officers are trained in Indian Naval Academy Ezhimla along with Naval cadets.

Hope you like the blog. It will definitely help you in the long run. Stay tuned DDE.