8 months ago
3
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh connected Monday (September 29, 2025) said that warfare is present "measured successful hours and seconds, not months", with satellites, drones and sensors redefining the quality of conflict, arsenic helium urged the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to make a futuristic roadmap that anticipates caller challenges, integrates cutting-edge technologies and continuously adapts strategies.
In his code astatine the 42nd ICG Commanders' Conference held astatine the force's office here, Mr. Singh besides underlined that cyber and physics warfare are "no longer hypothetical threats", but present-day realities.
"A federation whitethorn effort to paralyse our systems not with missiles, but done hacking, cyber-attacks and physics jamming. The ICG indispensable continuously adapt, upgrade its grooming and instrumentality to defender against specified threats. Automated surveillance networks and AI-enabled systems are indispensable to trim effect times to seconds and guarantee readiness astatine each times," helium said.
The Defence Minister said warfare is present "measured successful hours and seconds, not months, with satellites, drones and sensors redefining the quality of conflict".
Mr. Singh underlined that India's 7,500-km coastline, on with land territories specified arsenic the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, poses "enormous challenges", requiring precocious technology, well-trained unit and round-the-clock surveillance.
He emphasised that maritime threats are becoming progressively technology-driven and multi-dimensional.
"What were erstwhile predictable patterns of smuggling oregon piracy person present evolved into blase operations utilizing GPS spoofing, remote-controlled boats, encrypted communications, drones, outer phones and adjacent networks operating connected the acheronian web," helium said.
Mr. Singh besides warned that violent organisations exploit modern tools, specified arsenic integer mapping and real-time intelligence, to program their activities.
"Traditional methods are nary longer sufficient, we indispensable beryllium up of criminals and adversaries by integrating artificial intelligence, instrumentality learning-based surveillance, drones, cyber-defence systems and automated effect mechanisms into our maritime information framework," helium said.
The league is being held from September 28 to 30 successful the backdrop of "evolving maritime information challenges" and the increasing strategical value of the Indian Ocean Region.
Mr. Singh described the ICG arsenic a captious pillar of nationalist information that has transformed itself from a humble fleet astatine inception into a formidable unit with 152 vessels and 78 aircraft.
Mr. Since its establishment, the ICG has apprehended 1,638 overseas vessels and 13,775 overseas fishermen progressive successful amerciable activities wrong Indian waters, the defence ministry said successful a statement.
"It has besides seized 6,430 kilograms of narcotics, valued astatine ₹37,833 crore, highlighting its expanding effectiveness successful combatting transnational maritime crime. The ICG's dedication to hunt and rescue (SAR) operations has been notable, with 76 missions conducted by July this year, redeeming 74 lives, and a cumulative grounds of implicit 14,500 lives rescued successful catastrophe effect operations," it said.
"Whether it is responding to cyclones, lipid spills, concern accidents, oregon overseas vessels successful distress, ICG has ever acted swiftly to support lives and property. The satellite judges India by however we enactment successful specified crises, and the ICG has consistently brought america honour," Mr. Singh was quoted arsenic saying successful the statement.
The Defence Minister besides underscored the ICG's unsocial mandate of operating astatine the intersection of outer and interior security.
"By patrolling the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the ICG not lone deters outer threats but besides addresses amerciable fishing, cause and arms trafficking, smuggling, quality trafficking, marine contamination and irregular maritime activities," helium said.
Mr. Singh besides said the "seamless manner" successful which the ICG works successful existent clip with the civilian medication and different forces strengthens the full nationalist information architecture, adding, "You are nary longer conscionable a information provider, you are a existent unit multiplier." The elder Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) person reaffirmed the Government's committedness to modernising the ICG, noting that astir 90% of its superior fund is allocated to indigenous assets.
Mr. Singh drew the opposition betwixt onshore and maritime borders, noting that portion onshore boundaries are permanent, intelligibly marked and comparatively predictable, maritime borders are fluid and perpetually shifting owed to tides, waves and weather.
"A smuggling vas whitethorn look similar a sportfishing boat, a violent radical whitethorn exploit the openness of the sea, and threats whitethorn look invisibly. Maritime information is acold much analyzable and unpredictable than onshore borders and demands changeless vigilance," helium said.
The Defence Minister commended the ICG's strides successful women empowerment, pointing retired that women officers contiguous service not lone successful enactment roles but besides arsenic frontline warriors.
Citing developments successful Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and different countries successful the portion that interaction coastal security, particularly successful the Bay of Bengal, helium urged the ICG to support not conscionable regular surveillance but besides geopolitical consciousness and readiness to respond swiftly to outer developments.
"A disruption successful maritime trade, whether carnal oregon cyber, tin person cascading effects connected information and system alike. We indispensable dainty nationalist information and economical information arsenic 1 and the same," Mr. Singh said, adding, "Preparedness, adaptability and accelerated effect indispensable beryllium the cornerstones of the ICG's vision."
