Smart Skills
Navigate your way into the Coast Guard
Usha Albuquerque

Combining a life of challenges with adventure is that of the men in white, the Indian Coast Guard. With India’s vast 7,000 km coastline there is a very large sea frontier to protect. So, the Coast Guard is a force additional to the Navy, handling not the defence of the sea frontier, but the protection of Indian waters and the maritime resources within the jurisdiction of the coastal economic zone. This includes keeping a watch for smugglers and other such elements, and handling the security of offshore rigs and installations, and the safety of ships in the coastal waters.

Another important duty of the coast guard is to provide protection to fishermen and their families and to assist them at sea when in distress. The Coast Guard also ensures the preservation and protection of the marine environment, preventing and controlling pollution of the marine ecology.

Areas of work

There are four major areas of work in the Coast Guard. The General Duty Branch is the operational branch responsible for exercising command of ships at sea. General Duty officers manoeuvre the ships and operate weapons and sensors, and are required to have a wide sphere of knowledge of the equipment involved. Officers of the Pilot / Navigator Branch operate aircraft from shore Air Stations for surveillance of the coastal areas — also called the Exclusive Economic Zone — and for search and rescue missions at sea.

A ship is a floating mini-city fitted with advanced technology and machinery and with its own power generation and distribution system. In addition, complex computer-based radio communication equipment, radars and other sensors are also installed on board. For a ship to be able to perform its functions effectively, all this equipment must be kept working at peak efficiency. The Engineering Branch deals with the maintenance and repair of the various ships and aircraft of the Coast Guard, while the Electrical Branch is responsible for the effective and efficient functioning of the power generation and distribution system of the ship, the radio, the communication equipment, the radars and other sensors that are installed on board.

You can join the Coast Guard as an Assistant Commandant, if you have completed your bachelor’s degree. For recruitment as Assistant Commandants in the General Duty Branch you need to be 21-25 years of age, have a B.Sc with maths and physics, and pass the Second Mate’s exam prescribed by the Ministry of Transport.

If you have passed the intermediate exam and possess a commercial pilot’s licence, or have passed B.Sc with physics and maths you can also be recruited into the pilot / navigator branch. An engineering degree, or equivalent is necessary for entry into the technical branches. Marine engineering graduates, or those with a Certificate of Competency from the Ministry of Surface Transport, or a similar qualification are also recruited as Assistant Commandants in the technical branch. The age limit here is 21-30 years.

In addition, all candidates are required to have a minimum height of 157 cm and a minimum weight of 45 kg and eyesight in the range of 6/6 and 6/36 in both eyes. Women too can join the Coast Guard, in the legal and supply branches.

For non-gazetted posts in the coast guard, matriculates within the age group of 17-22 years, are eligible for recruitment as Naviks in the general duty branch, whereas candidates within the age of 22 years, with a diploma in mechanical, electrical electronics, or aeronautical engineering after matric level are recruited as Yantriks.

Selection to the various cadres of the Coast Guard are conducted every January and June, for which the forms are filled six months in advance. The examinations are conducted in two phases. There is a preliminary selection test in GK and IQ at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Port Blair. Girl candidates can join after graduation in any subject. Those qualifying in Phase I go through a final selection in New Delhi. The examination is a test of Science, IQ, GK. This is followed by interviews and medical examinations.

The basic and advanced training is given along with Naval Officers. The training begins with a capsule or orientation course at Goa for five months. You are then transferred all over the country as per the branch. Technical Officers go to INS Shivaji at Lonavala, Electrical Officers to INS Vulsara. Pilots go for training to INS Rajali near Chennai (helicopters) and to Daman for (fixed wings). Women Officers are trained at INS (Hamla) in Mumbai.

Subsequently, training for search and rescue operations, as well as pollution control is conducted in the USA, Japan and Singapore. Often, officers and Naviks are sent abroad for higher training too, and for courses in management and computer training.

After training, you can be posted to any of the 11 district commands — one in each coastal state on the mainland and two in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are four Coast Guard stations: Vadinar, Okha, Tuticorin and Mandapam under their respective district commands. The air wing of the Coast Guard is operated from four stations and six air units.

As in any government service, officers of the coast guard are offered good secure jobs with a number of benefits. These include furnished accommodation facilities, free medical facilities, and free food on board ship. Moreover, coast guard officers are provided with government loans for buying land, house or vehicles and good retirement and pension benefits.

Although the work may involve long journeys out at sea, and risk to life, the coast guard’s life provides a lot of excitement and adventure. Over the years, the Coast Guard has been instrumental in rescuing fishermen and others, several anti-smuggling operations along the coast, in containing incidents of oil spillage, as well as protecting the Olive Ridley turtles in the world’s largest rookery along the Orissa coast.

The service is expanding with the inclusion of more units and development facilities including pollution control vessel, hovercrafts, interceptors, advanced offshore vessels, long-range surveillance aircraft and shore support facilities.

Managing the oceans is not an easy task. It calls for knowledge, skill and commitment to action. If you are in good physical health, have a liking for the sea, an alert mind and disciplined lifestyle, there is great scope for young men and women in the Coast Guard.