Coastal Security in India

📖 The 26/11 wake-up call

The 26 November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, carried out by attackers who infiltrated by sea, exposed serious gaps in India's coastal security architecture, triggering a comprehensive overhaul of India's approach to securing its 7,516 km coastline.

🛡️ The multi-layered security architecture

Coastal security now operates in three tiers: the Indian Navy (overall responsibility for coastal security, including offshore areas), the Indian Coast Guard (patrolling territorial waters), and State Marine/Coastal Police (patrolling shallow coastal waters close to shore). The Navy's Sagar Prahari Bal, raised in 2009, specifically protects critical coastal and offshore assets.

📋 Key initiatives

• Coastal Security Scheme — strengthening state marine police infrastructure and patrol capability.
• Universal registration of fishing boats and issuance of biometric ID cards to fishermen, to distinguish legitimate vessels from potential threats.
• National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network (NC3I) — links coastal radar stations for a real-time, unified coastal surveillance picture.