Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (February 1, 2026) praised the role of the Indian Coast Guard during last year’s Operation Sindoor, saying the maritime force had deployed strategic assets in advance, enhanced surveillance along the western coast, and maintained a “high alert” in the coastal and creek areas.

Addressing an event to mark the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) 50th Raising Day, Mr. Singh also said the operation displayed “seamless inter-service coordination” within India’s multi-layered maritime security system, and reaffirmed the role of the ICG as a “frontline force”.

In his address, the Defence Minister also made a reference to the Union Budget 2026-27 presented on Sunday (February 1, 2026), calling it a budget that reflects “what is on India’s mind”.

Raised on February 1, 1977, the ICG was envisioned to address emerging maritime challenges and safeguard India’s expanding marine interests.

Mr. Singh said in the past five decades, the Coast Guard has emerged as an “important pillar” of India’s national security, and the ICG has been transformed into a “massive, modern, and powerful force” equipped with advanced ships, helicopters, modern aircraft and best technologies.

In his address, he enumerated the various key roles played by the ICG, from preventing terrorism, arms and human trafficking to ensuring maritime security, and from saving lives and responding to natural disasters, to controlling other illegal activities, saying the force remains vigilant on every front.

“Besides, your big achievement is also what you did during Operation Sindoor, which was effected under an environment of heightened maritime sensitivity,” he said.

The Defence Minister said that the ICG, under a “fast and firm response”, had “deployed strategic assets in advance, enhanced surveillance along the western coast, and maintained a high alert in coastal and creek areas”.

He described the ICG as a “wall of trust” on India’s maritime border, saying it demonstrated the true meaning of service to the nation.

“Operation Sindoor displayed seamless inter-service coordination within India’s multi-layered maritime security system, and reaffirmed the role of the Indian Coast Guard as a frontline force,” Mr. Singh said.

Established in 1977 with just seven surface platforms, the ICG has evolved into a formidable maritime force comprising 155 ships and 80 aircraft, officials said.

By 2030, the ICG is “poised to achieve its target force levels of 200 surface platforms and 100 aircraft, firmly establishing itself among the world’s premier coast guard services,” they said.

Mr. Singh said in an era of global instability and growing maritime threats, its responsibilities have increased even more.

“Its contribution in tackling challenges such as drug trafficking, piracy, illegal trade, and marine pollution is decisive. Saving over 11,800 lives at sea since its inception clearly demonstrates its courage, skill, and sense of duty.

“Be it cyclones, maritime accidents, or regional humanitarian missions like Operation Sagar Bandhu, it has demonstrated prompt response, compassion, and a professional approach. Multi-agency coordination, the role of first responders in disaster management, and the display of humanity, along with professionalism, strengthen national security,” he said.

Mr. Singh exhorted the ICG to prepare a “clear, well-targeted, and visionary roadmap” for the next 25 years as the nation marches forward towards the goal of Viksit Bharat at 2047 with determination.

He emphasised that the roadmap should not only encompass manpower planning and capability development, but also define where the ICG sees itself as an organisation by 2047.

Mr. Singh urged the ICG to focus on organisational and structural reforms that will make it more “agile, responsive and future oriented”.

“If this introspection and reforms are initiated today, then on 100 years of our independence, the ICG will not only become a strong guardian of maritime security, but also a shining symbol of Viksit Bharat’s maritime prowess,” he said.

Mr. Singh also unveiled the ICG’s ‘Swarnim Jayanti’ logo, and released a commemorative stamp.

Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, Defence Secretary R.K. Singh, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi and Director General, ICG, Paramesh Sivamani, were present at the event hosted at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi have extended greetings to all ranks of the ICG on the occasion.

“#ICGRaisingDay2026 Hon’ble President of #India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu extended her warm wishes to @IndiaCoastGuard on the occasion of 50th raising day. #IndianCoastGuardDay2026 #WeProtect,” the ICG posted on X on Sunday (February 1, 2026), and shared a written message of the President.

Prime Minister Modi in a post on X earlier in the day, said, “On their Raising Day, greetings to all the ranks of the Indian Coast Guard. They have made a mark for standing as a steadfast shield along our shores. Their unwavering commitment to maritime security, swift disaster response and protection of our marine ecosystem is commendable. @IndiaCoastGuard”.

The Union Budget 2025-26 earmarked ₹6.81 lakh crore — or 13.4% of total Central government expenditure — for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Of the MoD’s total budget, ₹4.92 lakh crore, or 72%, is meant for the Defence Services (primarily the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Defence Research and Development Organisation).

About ₹1.61 lakh crore — amounting to 24% of the MoD’s total outlays — is provisioned to meet the pensionary expenses of the defence services; and the balance ₹28,683 crore, or 4%, to cater for the ‘civil organisations’ of the MoD, which include, inter alia, the Border Roads Organisation and the Indian Coast Guard.

Coming in the backdrop of a volatile regional and global security environment, the MoD’s budget and its distribution among various heads, evokes several pertinent questions, including about its adequacy to meet the needs of the defence forces and its impact on indigenisation that the Modi government pursues through its flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative.

On the question of adequacy, the MoD’s budget falls short of expectations. Although the MoD’s budget has been hiked by a decent 9.53%, much of the hike will be neutralised by the prevailing inflation (about 5%) and a weakening domestic currency vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar.

Little freedom

To further compound the problems of high inflation and a depreciating rupee, the MoD budget has little freedom to improve the firepower of the defence forces. Historically the defence budget has been dominated by the manpower cost. The salary and pension in the MoD’s latest budget accounts for 53%, leaving the balance to thinly spread on a host of other critical items of expenditure which are vital for modernisation and operational preparedness of the armed forces.

The capital expenditure of the defence services, much of which is spent on capital acquisitions and is vital for defence modernisation, has been pegged at ₹1.8 lakh crore — an increase of 4.7%. Notably this marginal increase has come after over 7% reduction in the previous capital budget.

The under-utilisation of previous budget and marginal increase in the capital expenditure will slow down the modernisation and indigenisation process going forward. Nonetheless, the MoD plans to sign several mega contracts, including for long endurance drones, deck-based fighters and next-generation submarines in the coming fiscal year, while sticking to the same indigenisation plan as articulated in the previous budget. To promote Make in India in defence, the MoD has earmarked 75% of its new capital procurement budget of ₹1.49 crore for procurement from the domestic industry, with 25% the domestic share being reserved for the Indian private sector.

While a big share for the domestic industry is a welcome step, to put both the modernisation and indigenisation on a fast track, the MoD requires a much bigger kitty than it has got in the successive union budgets. As a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the MoD’s latest budget amounts to a just 1.9% — a share too low for a country that faces two nuclear rivals. The government urgently needs to step up its spending on defence to at least 2.5% of GDP in the near- to medium-term and to 3% thereafter for a credible defence.

(The author is Associate Professor at the Special Centre for National Security Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.)

An Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Coast Guard crashed in Gujarat’s Porbandar, killing three people, sources told NDTV. Three crew members onboard the chopper died in the crash after it was up in flames.

The ALH Dhruv, which is operated by the armed forces, crashed in an open field and was up in flames, visuals showed. The reason behind the crash is still not known and an inquiry has been launched. 

The Dhruv chopper was on a routine sortie when it crashed. The crash took place at the Air Enclave of the Indian Coast Guard and a few people were also injured in the crash. They are being treated at the civil hospital, sources said.

The Indian Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency, with jurisdiction in India’s territorial waters. 

The identity of the victims is unknown and more details are awaited.

Four months ago in September, three crew members went missing after the ALH MK-III helicopter fell into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar. While the bodies of two crew members were recovered subsequently, a search continued to trace Rakesh Kumar Rana, the pilot in command of the mission. 

After a month-long search, the pilot’s body was recovered in October off the Gujarat coast by the Coast Guard.

The chopper crashed while trying to evacuate an injured man on board motor tanker Hari Leela, nearly 30 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast.  

Two years ago, a string of flaws were identified in the ALH Dhruv chopper, which is operated by the Army, Navy and the Air Force. 

There were certain design and metallurgy issues in some components that were identified. The scrutiny was carried out after accidents involving the platform that had forced the Army and the Indian Air Force to ground their fleets.

The choppers that were grounded resumed their operations following the completion of the safety audit.

The Indian Navy, the IAF, the Army and the Coast Guard have a total of over 325 ALH Dhruv helicopters and all of them underwent technical checks following the incidents of accidents in 2023.

New Delhi:

For Rs 200 a day, a labourer working with a private company in a coastal town in Gujarat moonlighted as a spy for Pakistan, according to the Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS).

Dipesh Gohil, who was working in Gujarat’s Dwarka, came in touch with a Pakistani naval officer, Asima, on Facebook.

The ATS said Gohil collected and sent sensitive photographs to Pakistan from Okha region in Dwarka.

Most of the sensitive information he had been sending to his handler in Pakistan was about the Indian Coast Guard, the ATS said.

He allegedly sent sensitive information including videos of Coast Guard ship movement on WhatsApp.

“We got intelligence that a man from Okha was sharing details about the Coast Guard with an agent of Pakistan’s Navy or the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) through WhatsApp. Following an investigation, we arrested Dipesh Gohil, a resident of Okha. The number Dipesh was in contact with was traced to Pakistan,” Gujarat ATS officer K Siddharth said.

The ATS said Gohil had easy access to Coast Guard ships at the Okha port.

Gohil did not have a bank account, and so he got the money sent to his friend’s account, the ATS said, adding he would take cash from his friend saying it was income he made from wielding work.

So far he received Rs 42,000 from the Pakistani handler, who has not been identified yet.

With inputs from Mahendra Prasad

Ahmedabad:

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday arrested a labourer for allegedly sharing sensitive information regarding the movement of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships with a Pakistani agent, said a police official.

Dipesh Gohel, who worked as a welder-cum-labourer at Okha jetty in the coastal Devbhumi Dwarka district, shared sensitive information about ICG ships coming to the jetty with a Pakistan-based woman for a payment of Rs 200 per day, said Superintendent of Police (ATS) K Siddharth.

He has been arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the government under sections 61 and 147 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the SP told reporters.

The ATS had been keeping a close watch on Dipesh Gohel after receiving a tip-off that the labourer was in touch with an agent of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI or an Army officer. Technical surveillance mounted after the tip-off established that phone calls and messages to Dipesh Gohel emanated from Pakistan, he said.

“For the past three years, Dipesh Gohel has been employed by a contractor who repairs Coast Guard vessels at Okha jetty. Dipesh Gohel came in contact with a woman named Sahima on Facebook nearly seven months ago. The woman then started talking to him on WhatsApp,” informed Siddharth.

The woman, who told Dipesh Gohel that she works for the Pakistan Navy, offered to pay Rs 200 per day if he shares names and numbers of Coast Guard ships arriving at the jetty and their movement, said the police officer.

“Despite knowing that it was illegal, Gohel agreed and started sharing such sensitive information,” said the SP.

Since Dipesh Gohel does not have a bank account of his own, he gave account details of three of his friends. They all received Rs 42,000 in total through UPI during the last seven months from the woman. Dipesh Gohel used to take cash from his friends against those deposits, said the IPS officer.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Indian Coast Guard today caught a Myanmarese fishing boat in the Andaman Sea, which was carrying 5,500 kg of Methamphetamine and a satellite phone, making it the biggest-ever drug haul by the Coast Guard in the maritime domain.

The Coast Guard’s Dornier aircraft detected the boat ‘Soe Wai Yan Htoo’ during a reconnaissance sortie. The reconnaissance party found the boat’s operations suspicious and informed the Joint Operation Centre (JOC), which deployed a Fast Patrol Vessel, ICG Ship Aruna Asaf Ali, to intercept the boat.

The vessel did not match the characteristics of a local Indian boat, and it carried the Myanmar flag. The Indian Coast Guard shadowed the vessel until the early morning of Sunday. 

Coast Guard’s Aruna Asaf Ali boarded the suspicious boat for investigation at 0630 hrs on 24 Nov 24 when it was eight nautical miles off Barren Island in the Indian Territorial waters. The six boat crew onboard the boat were identified as Myanmarese nationals. 

During the boat’s rummaging, 5,500 kg of white crystalline compound onboard along with one portable Inmarsat Satellite phone were found. The white crystalline compound was anticipated to be contraband, and hence, the boat was apprehended. 

Subsequently, the boat was brought to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ capital, Sri Vijaya Puram, for further investigation. 

The seizure is the largest-ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard in maritime history. In the recent past, there has been a rise in the detection/sighting of Rohingya boats/ Myanmarese poachers in the Andaman seas. 

The seas were kept under strict surveillance owing to recent inputs revealed during the joint interrogation of an apprehended poacher. 

New Delhi:

In a major drug haul, Indian Coast Guard has apprehended a huge consignment of around five tonnes of drugs from a fishing boat in the Andaman waters, said defence officials.

The defence officials said that this is likely to be the biggest ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard ever.

“Indian Coast Guard has apprehended a huge consignment of around five tonnes of drugs from a fishing boat in the Andaman waters. This is likely to be the biggest ever drug haul by the Indian Coast Guard ever. More details awaited,” said Defence Officials.

More details are awaited.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Three Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crew members are missing after a helicopter, which was deployed to rescue an injured crew member from a tanker in the Arabian Sea, had to make an emergency landing on Monday.

The ICG said an advanced light helicopter was deployed at 11 pm to evacuate a “seriously injured crew” onboard the Motor Tanker Hari Leela, about 45 kilometers from Gujarat’s Porbandar into the sea.

The helicopter with four crew members was forced to make an “emergency hard landing” and was ditched into the sea during the operation, the ICG said.

“One crew has been recovered and a search for the remaining three is in progress. Aircraft wreckage has been located,” the Coast Guard said.

On 02 Sep 2024, @IndiaCoastGuard ALH helicopter was launched at 2300 hrs to evacuate an injured crew member from the Motor Tanker Hari Leela off #Porbandar, #Gujarat. The helicopter had to make an emergency hard landing and ditched into sea. One crew member recovered, search for…

— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) September 3, 2024

Four ships and two aircraft have been deployed for rescue efforts, it said.

The incident comes days after the Coast Guard was involved in rescue and relief operations in rain-ravaged parts of Gujarat.

Apart from the ICG, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and its state counterpart SDRF, the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force relocated more than 17,000 people from flood-affected areas.

New Delhi:

Indian Coast Guard chief Rakesh Pal died of a cardiac arrest in Chennai today. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his condolence message said Director General Pal was “an able and committed officer”.

“Deeply saddened at the untimely demise of Rakesh Pal, DG, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in Chennai today. He was an able and committed officer under whose leadership ICG was making big strides in strengthening India’s maritime security. My heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family,” Mr Singh said.

Rakesh Pal had taken charge as the 25th Director General of the ICG on July 19 last year. He was scheduled to meet the Defence Minister at an ICG event, but was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital earlier in the day after he complained of uneasiness, officials said.

Rajnath Singh, who also attended a Tamil Nadu government event to release a commemorative coin on DMK leader late M Karunanidhi’s birth centenary, rushed to the hospital to pay his respects to Rakesh Pal.

In his distinguished career spanning over 34 years, the Flag Officer had held several key appointments on the sea and ashore. Prominent among them were the Commander of Coast Guard Region (North West), Deputy Director General (Policy and Plans), and Additional Director General at Coast Guard Headquarters in Delhi.

He also held various prestigious staff assignments namely Director (Infra and Works) and Principal Director (Administration) at Coast Guard headquarters.

Rakesh Pal was known for having vast sea experience and commanded all classes of ICG ships, namely Samarth, Vijit, Sucheta Kriplani, Ahalyabai, and C-03.

The officer also commanded two Coast Guard Bases in forward areas in Gujarat — Okha and Vadinar.

He was elevated to the rank of Additional Director General in February 2022 and appointed as Additional Director General at Coast Guard headquarters.

Under his supervision, the Coast Guard carried out many major operations and exercises that included the seizure of drugs and narcotic substances and gold worth crores of rupees.

Panaji:

The fire that broke out on July 19 on a merchant navy ship off the coast of Goa is under control, a senior Indian Coast Guard official said on Sunday, adding one crew member had died in the blaze.

MV Maersk Frankfurt, carrying 1,154 containers, including some with dangerous cargo like benzene and sodium cyanate, had caught fire some 102 nautical miles off the coast of Goa while on its way from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Dry chemical powder that was spread through helicopters on Saturday helped to a large extent in controlling the fire, ICG Deputy Inspector General Manoj Bhatia told PTI.

There is no fire in the portion in which the dangerous cargo is stocked, the ICG deputy inspector general asserted.

“The firefighting operation is still on. The fire is under control. I would not say it is fully doused. Four ships are already in the area and also helicopters are taking regular sorties. The ICG spread dry chemical powder through helicopters on Saturday, which has controlled the fire to a larger extent,” Mr Bhatia said.

One of the 22 crew members is reportedly dead, he said, adding there is no immediate danger to anyone on the ship.

“The ICG is keeping the vessel slightly away from the coast. We have asked state agencies to prepare for any exigencies that may occur due to oil pollution. We have given warning to all the concerned states so that disaster contingency plan is activated towards pollution response,” he said.

Mr Bhatia said past experience has shown such fires take 3-4 days to be put out completely, and even then the area remains heated, which one needs to keep a watch on.

Mr Bhatia said fire in the part of the ship where the dangerous cargo is stocked could have resulted in a major disaster.

“As of now there is no oil pollution, no damage to the ship. It is just preparedness that once such a incident happens we have to keep all precautions in place,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)