INDIA. Mumbai: A week-long search and rescue operations (SAR Op) course began on Monday at the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Western Region’s Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC).
The course, organised under the aegis of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), was inaugurated by Commander of the ICG Western Region (COMCG) Manoj Baadkar. 22 officers from Mauritius, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are attending this course.
ITEC is administered by the Development Partnership Administration-II Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. Instituted in 1964, it is one of the oldest institutionalised arrangements for international capacity building, having trained more than 200,000 officials from over 160 countries in both the civilian and defence sectors.
Since 2014, India has provided nearly 100,000 people with world-class capacity-building training and scholarships at premier Indian institutions, as well as the opportunity to experience Indian culture and hospitality.
Apart from the regular calendar-based training programs, India also responds to country-specific requests for training in specific areas of governance by organising customised training programmes that are designed and delivered by the leading institutions in India.
Today, ITEC utilizes a bouquet of varied modalities to meet its mandate of capacity building. Even as we have re-commenced in-person (or on-campus) courses, we have also introduced modalities like eITEC (for online training using digital delivery platforms), ITEC-Executive (short-term policy-focused, in-person training for senior government executives), ITEC-Onsite and ITEC-Expert (onsite capacity building assignments carried out by Indian experts).
Another event planned in the run-up to Coast Guard Week was a visit by school students to ICGS Sankalp in Mumbai. The students, teachers, and NCC cadets visited the ship. They have explained the role and function of the ICG. On this occasion, the students expressed their desire to join the forces.
Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrated on the first of February every year. This year, India will be observing the 47th Indian Coast Guard Day. Coast Guard Day is celebrated in honour of organisations from every country that look after maritime security and also meet the needs of that country.
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