New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrating its 46th Foundation Day today on February 01, 2022. From a simple start with just 7 ground platforms in 1978, today the ICG has transformed into an invincible army with 158 ships and 70 aircraft and is projected to achieve a targeted force of 200 ground platforms and 80 aircraft by 2025.
As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, the Indian Coast Guard has played a key role in securing the Indian coast and enforcing the rules in India's maritime areas. In the last year, the ICG has saved more than 1,200 lives at sea and since its inception, it has saved more than 11,000 lives. Campaigns of "assistance to the civic authority" such as helping the local administration during floods, cyclones and other natural calamities, the force has rescued around 13,000 personnel so far in the recent floods in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa.
Even after the restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the ICG keeps a 24-hour vigil in the Special Economic Zone by deploying about 50 ships and 12 aircraft daily. Prevention of smuggling through sea routes in its territory is one of the primary duties of the Indian Coast Guard. In the last year, the force has seized drugs and banned substances worth around Rs 4,000 crore. The ICG has seized drugs and banned substances worth around Rs 12,000 crore since its inception till date.
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