Indian Coast Guard gets just Rs 147.49 cr extra

New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard, responsible for the security of country’s coastline, has got only Rs 147.49 crore more than what it received in the last budget. When its Budget allocation is compared with the revised Budget allocation, it has, in fact, got Rs 43 crore less.

The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea. Despite being relatively small, it has a wide range of task capabilities for both surface and air operations.

There was a huge push to modernise and expand the role of Indian Coast Guard, but with less budget allocation, the force will be unable to make critical procurements.

Indian Coast Guard has got Rs 5,032.76 crore in the Union Budget 2020-2021, tabled in Lok Sabha on Saturday. Out of the proposed allocation, the organization gets Rs 2,500 crore as capital outlay and Rs 2,532.76 crore under the revenue head.

In 2019-2020, the government had allocated Rs 4,885.27 crore in which Rs 2,500 was allocated under capital outlay and Rs 2,385.27 crore under revenue head.

The task of the coast guard is to ensure the safety and protection of islands, offshore terminals, installations and other structures and devices in any maritime zone. The force also provides protection to fishermen, including assistance to them at sea while in distress.

The force also assists the customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations.

India’s 7,516-km-long coastline includes 5,422 km on the mainland and 2,094 km on islands.

IANS