Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian Coast Guard on its 46th Raising Day on Tuesday, February 1. 

He wrote on Twitter, “Best wishes to the Indian Coast Guard family on their Raising Day. An organisation of great strategic importance, our Coast Guard is an outstanding team of professionals, who steadfastly secure our coasts and also are at the forefront of humanitarian efforts.”

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The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea.  Despite being relatively small, it has a wide range of task capabilities for both surface and air operations.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also extended his wishes to the organisation, writing, “Indian Coast Guard has firmly established itself as a potent Maritime force committed to safeguard the national interests in Maritime Zones of India, which is in accordance with its motto ‘Vayam Rakshamah’.”

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The organization is headed by the Director-General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) exercising his overall command and superintendence from the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) located at New Delhi. 

As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, it has played a significant role in securing the Indian coasts and enforcing regulations in the maritime zones of India.

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The mission of the organisation, as stated on its website, reads, “To protect our ocean and offshore wealth including oil, fish
and minerals. To assist mariners in distress and safeguard life and
property at sea. To enforce maritime laws with respect to sea, poaching,
smuggling and narcotics. To preserve marine environement and ecology and protect rare
species. To collect scientific data and back-up the navy during war.”

The organisation was created to meet the need of ‘safety and protection’ tasks in Indian waters, especially in the face of sea-borne smuggling. The ‘Nag Committee’ set up in 1970 recommended the requirement of separate marine force to deal with the smuggling activities.