Career option in Indian Coast Guard

Ranjan K Baruah *

There are different defence forces in the country like Indian Army, Indian Air force and Indian Navy. There are many other Para Military Forces like BSF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB, etc operating in different parts of the country.

There is another similar organisation about which we may know little as we don't see them around us as we are not connected to sea or oceans. The Indian Coast Guard is a multi-mission organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at sea. Despite being relatively small, it has a wide range of task capabilities for both surface and air operations.

The organization is headed by the Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) exercising his overall command and superintendence from the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) located at New Delhi.

Indian Coast Guard is an armed force of the union for enforcing the maritime laws of the country. The Coast Guard has dedicated and professional team of officers and men who operate ships and aircrafts for safeguarding county's maritime interests in the Indian EEZ. Indian Coast Guard offers various job opportunities as officer and Enrolled Personnel to the young and educated youth of the country by conducting recruitment in different categories. There are options to join as officers and others.

Officers General Duty Branch is the operational branch of the Indian Coast Guard. Command of Ships at sea can only be exercised by officer of the General duty branch. As a General duty branch officer would operate weapons, sensors and perform the command function which demands a wide sphere of knowledge of equipment.

There are opportunities as Pilot in Indian Coast Guard. Indian Coast Guard operates fixed wing aircraft from shore Air stations for surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone. In addition, helicopters are embarked on Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessels to provide local surveillance and perform Search and Rescue mission at sea.

Technical Branch deals with modern ships and aircrafts are abounding with advance technology and machinery. In the Technical branch one would be responsible to keep all these equipment serviceable. Aspirants shall also get opportunities to work in shore jobs in Coast Guard repair organisations.

Women in Coast Guard: Women are recruited in Coast Guard only as officers in General duty, General Duty (Pilot / Navigation) and General Duty (CPL Holders, Short Service entry) branches. The selection process for women is similar to that of male candidates.

The women officers are posted in non sea going appointments. Unlike the other Armed Forces, the women officers in Coast Guard have the option to serve till superannuation, except for CPL holders and General Duty branch- Short service appointment.

The recruitment of Asst. Commandants is conducted bi-annually and the advertisement is given in leading national newspapers in both Hindi as well as in English in the month of Jan/Feb and Aug/Sep. The shortlisted candidates are called for Preliminary Selection (PSB) as per their choice of centres from Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Kochi, Vizag and Port Blair.

There are also opportunities to join as Yantriks. Coast Guard offers excellent opportunity for diploma holders in Mechanical Electrical, Electronic and Aeronautical branches of engineering. The Yantriks are backbone of Coast Guard and responsible for operating and maintaining the machinery and equipment fitted on Indian Coast Guard ships and aircrafts.

Naviks(GD) : Coast Guard provides excellent opportunity for young dynamic male candidates in General Duty branch for 10+2 entry. On joining one would specialize in various streams viz.
(a) Seaman
(b) Communication
(c) Mechanical Engineer
(d) Electrical
(e) Aviation

Naviks( DB) : Candidates with 10th qualification can join Coast Guard in Domestic branch as Cooks and Stewards. The recruitment is conducted bi-annually in the month of Apr/Oct. The recruitment is conducted in 6 zones viz., Western Zone, Eastern Zone, North-Eastern Zone, A&N Zone, North West Zone and North Zone. Aspirants may visit the website of ICG for further details and any updates related to recruitment.

(With direct inputs from the website of Indian Coast Guard )