COMMON COMMUNICATION PLAN GETS MHA NOD

Mumbai: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved a common communication plan for coastal security that envisages integrating marine law enforcement agencies into a single network for better coordination and seamless exchange of mission-critical information. The plan will be able to integrate all coastal security agencies in a common communication network with a dedicated spectrum for the purpose, a senior Indian Navy official has said. The dedicated spectrum will use a common band and it will be a “big step” in terms of boosting coastal security, said the official of the Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai, who declined to be named. The construct of coastal security involves joint operations, exercises, and activities, which require coordination between multiple agencies at the Command and Control Centre of the Navy and at the field - be it ashore or at sea, he said.

So communication between agencies and units involved with coastal security, especially those operating at sea, plays a vital role in cross-agency coordination and seamless exchange of mission-critical information on a real-time basis so as to enable effective conduct of coastal security activities, said the official. This facet received an impetus after the recent appointment of a National Maritime Security Coordinator to oversee national maritime issues, he said. Against this backdrop, the MHA had constituted a task force comprising representatives of all central and state agencies concerned to facilitate effective communication by coastal security stakeholders. “The MHA recently promulgated a common communication plan for coastal security that will be able to integrate all coastal security agencies in a common communication network,” he said, adding the central ministry approved the plan last week. — PTI