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Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, stated that the Government of India has taken significant steps for the "training, capacity building, and modernisation of coastal police" in the country.
Rai mentioned that the Central government has established the National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) in Gujarat's Dwarka district. So far, 1,725 personnel from coastal police, customs, BSF, and CISF have been trained in various courses at the academy. The Minister provided this information in response to a question from BJP Lok Sabha MPs Dilip Saikia and Kamlesh Jangde regarding the government's initiatives for training and capacity building of coastal police in coastal states and Union Territories, along with details on their modernisation efforts. He further stated that Coastal Police personnel are also trained at the Coast Guard Training Centre in Kochi and Coast Guard District Headquarters across all coastal states and Union Territories. To date, 13,879 Coastal Police personnel have been trained at these centres. Rai highlighted that coastal security exercises such as "Sagar Kavach" and coastal security drills like "Sajag" are conducted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), with the participation of Coastal Police. These exercises and drills aim to enhance inter-agency coordination and establish a robust coastal security mechanism. Coastal Police personnel also receive specialised training from the Indian Navy at naval establishments in areas such as seamanship, navigation, and boat handling. Over 3,000 personnel have been trained in these areas to date. The ICG has additionally conducted Joint Coastal Patrolling (JCP) with the Coastal Police, with 3,374 JCP sorties and the embarkation of 8,122 personnel undertaken since the initiative began in August 2020. To bolster coastal security, the central government has implemented the Coastal Security Scheme (CSS) in two phases. Under this scheme, 204 Coastal Police Stations have been operationalised. Furthermore, the government has provided 204 boats, 37 jetties, 284 four-wheelers, 554 two-wheelers, 97 check-posts, 58 out-posts, and 30 barracks to coastal states and Union Territories. Six Marine Police Operation Centres (MPOC) have also been constructed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On modernisation efforts, Rai emphasised that it is an ongoing process, with states continuously striving to upgrade and equip their police forces under the "Assistance to States & UTs for Modernisation of Police" scheme. Under this initiative, the central government has provided Rs 63.35 crore in assistance to nine coastal states and four Union Territories over the past two years and the current financial year. (ANI)
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