National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre in India

NEW DELHI : India is going to open a National Maritime Domain Awareness Center (NMDAC) to fight new dangers in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The NMDAC will focus on terrorism, piracy, trafficking, and illegal fishing. There are already advanced talks going on, and the final deal should be signed early next year.

Objective of NMDAC

The NMDAC’s job is to quickly gather and analyze information in order to come up with useful solutions to maritime security problems, all while keeping an eye on China’s growing military presence in the area.

Collaborative Framework

The plan will bring together 15 departments from seven ministries, such as those that handle oil, defense, fishing, and shipping. This multi-agency method is meant to make it easier for maritime security efforts to work together. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has been asked to provide the NMDAC with the tools and software it needs to run, which will ensure that it has a high-tech infrastructure.

Historical Context

The 2008 terrorist strikes in Mumbai made people more aware of how vulnerable people are at sea, which led to calls for stronger maritime security. This is what led to the creation of the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in 2014 and the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in 2018. Both of these centers are meant to improve maritime domain knowledge.

About Indian Ocean Region

20% of the water on Earth’s surface is in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The ocean is surrounded by 38 countries and is the third biggest in the world. There are about 2,000 islands in the IOR. Madagascar is the biggest. The ocean has a big impact on weather and trade lines because it holds important shipping lanes. The Monte Carlo Agreement wants everyone in the region to work together to keep everyone safe. Coral reefs and deep-sea trenches are two of the IOR’s unique habitats. It also supports a lot of different species, such as the rare dugong and many types of whales.