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Indian Coast Guard

Context: 45^th Raising Day of the Indian Coast Guard.

Indian Coast Guard 

• February 1 is celebrated as the Raising Day of the Indian Coast Guard. 
• The Indian Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement agency and a search and rescue agency that operates to protect India’s long coastline and maritime interests.
• It was established in 1977.
• Currently, the force has 156 ships and 62 aircraft in its inventory.
• As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, the Indian Coast Guard has played a significant role in securing the Indian Coasts and enforcing regulations within the Maritime Zones of India.
• Its motto is “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning “We Protect”.

Coast Guard Structure

• 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.
• For effective command and control, the Maritime Zones of India are divided into five Coast Guard Regions, namely, North-West, West, East, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar, with the respective Regional Headquarters located at Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Port Blair.
• The Coast Guard Regions are commanded by Officers of the rank of Inspector General.
• The regions are further divided into twelve Coast Guard ‘Districts’, one each for the nine coastal states on the mainland, two in the Andaman & Nicobar Region, and one at Kavaratti in the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands.
• Each Coast Guard District comprises of one or more Coast Guard Stations.
• In addition, there are Coast Guard Air Stations (CGAS) and Air Enclaves (CGAE) for air operations from various locations along the coastline.
• The Coast Guard is under the Ministry of Defence.

What is the Indian Coast Guard?

Unlike the Indian navy which is responsible for securing the freedom of India on waters through maintaining, training, and equipping combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas; the Indian Coast Guard is into law enforcement, search and rescue in the sea.

• It was established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978. It performs non-military functions.
• Motto: वयम रक्षामः” (Vayam Rakshamah), which translates from Sanskrit as “We Protect”
• It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• The headquarter of the Indian Coast Guard is in New Delhi.
• It has jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India including contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone.
• It is responsible for marine environment protection in maritime zones of India and is a coordinating authority for response to oil spills in Indian waters.

Indian Coast Guard Ships
Indian Coast Guard Ships are the Vessels bearing the prefix “ICGS”.

List of ICGS Pollution Control Vessel Class

List of ICGS Offshore Patrol Vessels

List of ICGS Fast Patrol Vessels

List of ICGS Patrol Boats

List of ICGS Patrol Crafts

List of ICGS Hover Crafts

Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS)

• The defence system at a naval harbour in Kochi has a state-of-the-art automated system capable of tracking, identifying, detecting, and generating warnings for surface and underwater threats.
• It will enable operators to foresee, and respond to, surface and sub-surface threats to vital assets along the harbour and warships in the quay.
• The system comprises a cluster of coastal surveillance radars, high-power underwater sensors, and diver detection sonars.
• Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) ELTA was involved in designing IUHDSS.
• The IUHDSS, along with the specialised Sagar Prahari Bal, would help in augmenting security of the coast around the naval installations in Kochi.
• It will relay images to the multi-agency Joint Operations Centre (JOC).

India International Silk Fair

Context: Union Textiles Minister inaugurates 8th India International Silk Fair on a virtual portal.

About the India International Silk Fair

• Considered to be India’s biggest silk fair, the India International Silk Fair is the Sourcing Fair for silk and silk blend products organised by the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles and sponsored by the Department of Commerce.

Indian Silk Export Promotion Council

• The Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC) was set up in 1983 as a company not for profit under the Companies Act duly sponsored by the Government of India in the Ministry of Textiles.
• ISEPC works closely with the Government of India on policy formulation concerning the silk sector and provides specialized services to the entrepreneurs enlarging global business opportunities for the silk industry in India.
• Main activities 
  • Explore markets and identify items offering export potential by conducting market surveys. 
  • Establish contacts with prospective buyers to generate their interest in Indian Silk products. 
  • Sponsor trade delegation, study teams and sales teams to various markets abroad. 
  • Organize Buyer Seller Meets for its member exporters. 
  • Organize Silk fairs and exhibitions in India. 
  • Participate in trade fairs and exhibitions abroad. 
  • Resolve trade disputes. 
  • Launch generic promotion of silk products from India. 
  • Organize Workshops/Seminars on various trade and policy-related issues.
• ISEPC is based in New Delhi.

Background

• India has a long history of silk production and is the 2nd-largest producer of Silk.
• India is the only country in the world which produces all the four major varieties of silk i.e. Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga.
• It also has large varieties of products to offer i.e. garments, fabrics and sarees, made-ups, carpets, hi-fashion silk apparels, gift items, scarves, stoles, home furnishing, curtains, etc.
• India has around 11 Geographical Indications (GI) such as Pochampally Ikat, Chanderpaul Silk, Mysore Silk, Kanchipuram Silk, Muga Silk, Salem Silk, Arni Silk, Champa Silk, Bhagalpur Silk, Banaras Brocade and Sarees, etc.