Coastal security

Story hook

It is the night of 26 November 2008. Ten heavily armed Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, having sailed from Karachi aboard the MV Al-Husseini, transfer to the Indian fishing trawler MV Kuber which they hijack near Porbandar after killing four of its five crew. They cover the final stretch in an inflatable dinghy, beach at Badhwar Park, Cuffe Parade, South Mumbai at about 20:30 IST, and unleash 60 hours of horror across the Taj, Trident-Oberoi, CST, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, Nariman House. 166 dead, 300+ injured, one terrorist Ajmal Kasab captured alive.

The military debrief of 26/11 identifies the same painful failure point that the Kargil Review Committee (1999) had already flagged: India's 7,517-km coastline is a porous operational seam. Three forces (Navy + ICG + Marine Police) operating with three different ministries (MoD + MoD + MHA), six maritime states, 1.6 lakh+ fishing vessels, and zero mandatory transponder regime had left a hole the size of an LeT infiltration through.

Phase-1 coastal security scheme had launched in 2005. After 26/11, Phase-2 (2011) + Phase-3 (2020) accelerated. The Indian Coast Guard was anointed lead agency for coastal security in territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles). The Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB) — a 1,000-strong Indian Navy specialist force to guard naval bases and harbours — was raised in 2009. The Joint Operations Centres (JOCs) at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Port Blair brought all three services onto a single watch floor. The National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS), chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, became the apex coordinator.

For UPSC, coastal security is the most architecture-heavy internal-security topic of GS-III — multiple agencies, multiple laws, layered jurisdictional zones, and a vocabulary that examiners love to drill.

Why this matters for UPSC

Asked in Mains GS-III in 2014, 2017, 2020 (in different framings), 2023. Prelims has tested the post-26/11 architecture (NCSMCS, ICG zones, Sagar Prahari Bal), maritime zones (territorial water 12 nm, contiguous 24 nm, EEZ 200 nm), and the Coast Guard Act 1978. Interview boards probe the candidate's grasp of federal coordination challenges — Navy + ICG + state marine police + customs + fisheries departments.