The 8th Apex Committee Review Meeting

The 8th Apex Committee Review Meeting (ACRM) on Coastal Security for West Bengal was conducted by the HQENC over Video Conference on 13 July 2021. The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, FOCINC ENC and Shri Hari Krishna Dwivedi, Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal. The meeting was also attended by representatives from all stakeholders namely; the Indian Navy, State Government of West Bengal, Coast Guard, BSF, NSG, Customs, IWAI, SMPK Port, Marine Police, IB, Department of Fisheries, BSNL, ISRO, GRSE and CISF etc. The meeting was convened as an Annual Review of Coastal Security issues of West Bengal. All key issues and developments/ progress made since the last review in 2019 were discussed and suitably addressed. Various challenges in the maritime domain as well as future measures and possible solutions to enhance ‘effectiveness of Coastal Security’ were also deliberated to chart the way-ahead. The meeting achieved its overall aim of finding solutions to strengthen the Coastal Security of West Bengal as well as achieve greater synergy among all stakeholders.