oppn parties A Push For Better Maritime Security

News Snippets

  • Supreme Court questions the continuing relevance of two-child norms. The Court observed that falling fertility rates have weakened the population-control rationale behind laws disqualifying people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. It referred the issue to a larger Bench for consideration
  • Supreme Court declines to shift Tirupati laddu case outside Andhra Pradesh. The Court rejected a plea seeking transfer of the trial, despite arguments that political statements by Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister could affect the fairness of proceedings
  • Supreme Court transfers Azam Khan's fresh ED bail plea to Allahabad High Court. The apex court declined to consider the Samajwadi Party leader's bail request in a fresh Enforcement Directorate case and directed that it be listed before a division Bench of the High Court on November 16
  • Two killed in Delhi building collapse; contractor booked. Two bodies were recovered after a building collapsed in Chawri Bazaar. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the contractor had been booked and the concerned junior and assistant engineers suspended
  • Uttar Pradesh voter rolls show a 2.4-crore discrepancy. A difference of approximately 2.4 crore names has been reported between the state's panchayat and rural Assembly voter lists. The Election Commission has ordered the two sets of rolls to be matched
  • Gujarat announces 3% dearness allowance hike. The state government announced a three-percentage-point increase in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali
  • Sensex and Nifty post their strongest single-day gains in months. The Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60%, to close at 79,310.01, while the Nifty 50 climbed 576 points, or 2.40%, to 24,536.60. Financial and automobile stocks led the rally, supported by falling crude prices and renewed foreign investor buying
  • Maaya Rajeshwaran reaches WTA-level quarter-final. The 17-year-old Indian defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a quarter-final at a WTA Tour-level singles event
  • Tanvi Patri reaches Youth Olympics badminton final. The 15-year-old defeated Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe in the semi-final, assuring India of a medal and becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach the girls' singles final at the Youth Olympics
  • India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship. India defeated Pakistan in a closely contested match, having led 3-0 before conceding two late goals. The victory was reported as a significant result for India's second-string side
  • India beat Japan 4-1 to win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy. India recovered from an early deficit to defeat Japan in the final at Mohali, extending its record as the tournament's most successful men's team
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
Stock markets on fire due to US results, Sensex gains 2008 points to reach its highest level in 8 months
oppn parties
A Push For Better Maritime Security

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-02-18 10:17:24

About the Author

Sunil Garodia The India Commentary view

It is unacceptable that many important things in India, which are announced soon after a problem, take so long to fructify. After the terror attack on multiple places in Mumbai on 26/11 in 2008, in which a batch of terrorists entered the city undetected through the sea route, the need for a maritime security advisory board and a maritime security adviser was flagged by the defence ministry. After 14 long years, Vice Admiral (retired) G Ashok Kumar has now been appointed the National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC) in the National Security Council Secretariat under NSA Ajit Doval. His job will be to ensure that the threat from the high seas is dealt with properly through effective coordination between multiple agencies.

Although this is a welcome move, questions need to be asked why it took so long for the appointment to be made. When the issue of national security concern is involved, the usual excuse of bureaucratic red-tape and turf wars between agencies should not suffice. If that is always the reason for delays in such important matters, the first thing India should do is to create a dedicated agency that can cut through such bureaucratic red tape and keep turf wars at bay. Ideally, once it is decided that a post needs to be created in the interest of national security, it should not take more than one year for it to fructify.

India has a huge 7516-km coastline and a huge area along this coastline is India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). With Pakistan supporting allegedly non-state actors to enter India and carry out terrorist activity and with the land border being watched diligently now, the sea route has become attractive. Also, the ease with which the 26/11 batch managed to enter India through the sea was shocking. China also deploys its huge maritime might in the Indian Ocean region for dubious activities. Further, conflicts over claims to EEZ are also rising. Hence, though delayed, the appointment of NMSC is timely and would ensure better maritime security.