The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency for India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. It was started in February 1977 and formally established in August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
The ICG works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Revenue (Customs), and the Coastal Police of the State Police Forces, and the Central Armed Police Forces.
History The establishment of the Indian Coast Guard was first proposed by the Indian Navy to provide non-military maritime services to the nation. In the 1960s, sea-borne smuggling of goods was threatening to destroy India's domestic economy. The Indian Customs Department frequently called upon the Indian Navy for assistance with patrol and interception in the anti-smuggling effort.
The Nagchaudhuri Committee was constituted with participation from the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force to study the problem. In August 1971, the committee identified the requirement to patrol India's vast coastline, set up a registry of offshore fishing vessels to identify illegal activity, and establish a capable and well-equipped force to intercept vessels engaged in illegal activities. The committee also looked at the number and nature of the equipment, infrastructure, and personnel required to provide those services.
By 1973, India had started a programme to acquire the equipment and started deputing personnel from the Indian Navy for these anti-smuggling and law enforcement tasks, under the provisions of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. The Indian Navy sensed that the law enforcement nature of these duties diverged from its core mission as a military service. Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli, then Chief of Naval Staff, made a recommendation to the Defence Secretary, outlining the need for a separate maritime service to undertake those duties and offering the Navy's assistance in its establishment. In August 1974, the Defence Secretary submitted a note to the Cabinet Secretary proposing cabinet action on Admiral Kohli's recommendation.
As a result, in September 1974, the Indian cabinet set up the Rustamji Committee, under the chairmanship of Khusro Faramurz Rustamji, with participation from the Navy, the Air Force and the Department of Revenue to examine gaps in security and law enforcement between the roles of the Indian Navy and the central and state police forces. The discovery of oil off Bombay High further emphasised the need for a maritime law enforcement and protection service.
In July 1975, the committee submitted its recommendation for the establishment of the Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence. Bureaucratic wrangling followed, with the Cabinet Secretary making a recommendation to place the service under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi overruled the Cabinet Secretary and decided to accept the original recommendation of the Rustamji Committee to place the service under the Ministry of Defence.
In February 1977, an interim Indian Coast Guard came into being, equipped with two small corvettes and five patrol boats transferred from the Navy. The duties and functions of the service were defined in the Coast Guard Act, which was passed by India's parliament in August 1978 and came into immediate effect.
Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath of the Indian Navy was appointed the founding Director-General. Prime Minister Morarji Desai inspected the Guard of Honour at the service's inauguration. In 1984, Vice Admiral Kamath proposed a five-year plan to develop the ICG into a potent force. The full potential of this plan was not immediately realised due to an economic resource crunch.
One of the historic operational successes of the ICG occurred in October 1999, with the recapture at high seas of a Panamanian-registered Japanese cargo ship, MV Alondra Rainbow, hijacked off Indonesia. Her crew was rescued off Phuket, Thailand. The ship had been repainted as MV Mega Rama, and was spotted off Kochi, heading towards Pakistan. She was chased by ICGS Tarabai and of the Indian Navy and apprehended. It was the first successful prosecution of armed pirates in over a century.
The Indian Coast Guard conducts exercises with the other coast guards of the world. In May 2005, the ICG agreed to establish liaison links with the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA). In 2006, the Indian Coast Guard conducted exercises with its Japanese and Korean counterparts.
After the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which the terrorists entered India from Pakistan via the sea route, the Indian government initiated a program to expand the ICG force, assets, and infrastructure for enhanced protection and surveillance of Indian waters.
The force aims to have 200 ships and 100 twin-engined aircraft by 2030 in its fleet. As of January 2025, ICG deploys 55 to 60 ships and 10 to 12 aircraft daily.
Present scenario
Current role
The Indian Coast Guard's motto is "वयम रक्षामः" (Vayam Rakshamah), which translates from Sanskrit as "We Protect".
Missions of Indian Coast Guard: 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 including pollution control Assistance to the Department of Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations Law enforcement in territorial as well as international waters Scientific data collection and support National defence during hostilities (under the operational control of the Indian Navy)
Additional responsibilities of the Indian Coast Guard:
Offshore Security Coordination Committee (OSCC) – The Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard is the Chairman of OSCC, constituted by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), of which the Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group is a member. National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority (NMSARCA) – The Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard is the NMSARCA for executing/coordinating search and rescue (SAR) missions Lead Intelligence Agency (LIA) – For coastal and sea borders Coastal Security – The Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard is the commander of coastal command and is responsible for overall coordination between central and state agencies in all matters relating to coastal security
Leadership and organisation
The Indian Coast Guard organisation is headed by the Director-General (DG ICG), who is located at Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ), New Delhi. At CGHQ, he is assisted by the Additional Director General Coast Guard (ADGCG) of the rank of ADG, four Deputy Director-Generals of the rank of Inspector-General, and other senior officers heading staff divisions.
Director General Paramesh Sivamani is the 26th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. The rank of Director General is equivalent to a Vice Admiral of Indian Navy.
The Indian Coast Guard has the Western and Eastern Seaboard, both commanded by three-star officers designated Coast Guard Commander Western Seaboard and Coast Guard Commander Eastern Seaboard. The seaboards are divided into four regions. A fifth region, the Andaman & Nicobar Region, reports directly to the DGICG.
Each region is headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector-General. Each of the regions is further divided into multiple districts, typically covering a coastal state or a union territory.
Coast Guard Seaboards HQ location Seaboard CommanderWestern Seaboard Mumbai ADG M.V Pathak,PTM, TMEastern Seaboard Visakapatanam ADG Donny Michael, AVSM, PTM, TM
Coast Guard regions Regional HQ location Regional commanderNorth-West Region (NW) Gandhinagar IG T Sashi Kumar, TMWestern Region (W) Mumbai IG Bhisham Sharma, PTM TMEastern Region (E) Chennai IG Y Dhaka, TMNorth-East Region (NE) Kolkata IG IS Chauhan, TMAndaman & Nicobar Region (A&N) Port Blair IG Neeraj Tiwari, TM
As of 2023, the Indian Coast Guard operates: 42 Coast Guard Stations 5 Coast Guard Air Stations 10 Coast Guard Air Enclaves
Organisation
In 2016, there were 42 Coast Guard stations along the Indian coastline.
Indian Coast Guard is responsible for the execution of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR). To serve this purpose, ICG operates 3 Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) in Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair and 36 Maritime Rescue Sub Centres (MRSC/MRCSC), which operates under their respective MRCCs.
In November 2024, the Indian Coast Guard and the Telecommunications Consultants India (TICL) laid the foundation of a full-fledged "Tier-3" Data Centre at Mahipalpur, Delhi. The construction will take 2 years. The project worth (including 5-year operational expenditure (opex) and a 2-year hardware warranty) will be carried out by TCIL, Yotta Infrastructure, and Attero, a software solution company. This will help ICG for Command and Control over their 109 offices and 88 ships at once. Regional HQDistrict HQCoast Guard StationNorth-East Region (NE) CGRHQ KolkataCGRHQICGS KolkataCGAE Kolkata (700 Squadron)DHQ-7 ParadipICGS ParadipICGS GopalpurCGAE Bhubaneswar (743 Squadron)DHQ-8 HaldiaICGS HaldiaICGS Frazerganj (includes FOB)CGAE Kolkata (700 Squadron)Eastern Region (E) CGRHQ ChennaiDHQ-5 Chennai CGAS Chennai (848, 744 Squadron) ICGS Chennai (includes MRCC and RMPC)DHQ-6 Visakhapatnam ICGS Visakhapatnam ICGS Kakinada ICGS Krishnapatnam ICGS Nizampatnam CGAE Visakhapatnam (Proposed)DHQ-13 Puducherry ICGS PuducherryCGAE Puducherry ICGS KaraikalDHQ-16 Thoothukudi ICGS Thoothukudi ICGS Mandapam CGAS Thoothukudi (Land acquisition in-progress)Andaman & Nicobar Region (A&N) CGRHQ Port BlairDHQ-14 Port Blair ICGS Port Blair (includes MRCC) CGAE Port Blair ICGS HutbayDHQ-9 DiglipurICGS MayabunderICGS DiglipurDHQ-10 Campbell BayICGS Campbell BayICGS KamortaWestern Region (W) CGRHQ MumbaiDHQ-3 New MangaluruICGS KarwarCGAE New MangaluruDHQ-2 MumbaiICGS Murud JanjiraICGS RatnagiriICGS DahanuDHQ-4 KochiICGS VizhinjamICGS BeyporeCGAE KochiDHQ-11 MormugaoICGS GoaCGAE DabolimDHQ-12 KavarattiICGS KavarattiICGS MinicoyICGS AndrothCGAS DamanNorth-West Region (NW) CGRHQ GandhinagarDHQ-1 PorbandarICGS GandhinagarICGS PipavavICGS VeravalCGAE PorbandarDHQ-15 OkhaICGS MundraICGS JakhauICGS VadinarICGS Okha
Personnel
Officer rank structure A table showing the rank structure of Coast Guard officers with those of the other Indian armed services.
Indian Coast Guard Ranks Indian Army Ranks Indian Navy Ranks Indian Air Force RanksCentral Armed Police Forces RanksPolice Director-General /Additional Director-General Lieutenant General Vice Admiral Air MarshalDirector General Director General of Police Inspector-General Major General Rear Admiral Air Vice MarshalInspector GeneralInspector General of Police Deputy Inspector-General Brigadier Commodore Air CommodoreDeputy Inspector General Deputy Inspector General of PoliceCommandant (Level 13-Pay Scale) ColonelCaptainGroup CaptainSenior Commandant/Commandant Superintendent (Selection Grade) Commandant (Junior Grade) Lt Colonel Commander Wing CommanderSecond In Command/ Commandant Superintendent Deputy Commandant Major Lt Commander Squadron LeaderDeputy Commandant Additional Superintendent Assistant Commandant (2 Years) Captain Lieutenant Flight LieutenantAssistant Commandant Deputy Superintendent Assistant Commandant Lieutenant Sub Lieutenant Flying OfficerAssistant Commandant (Junior )Assistant Superintendent
Coast Guard officers