By IANS,
New Delhi : All fishing and non-fishing boats plying in Indian waters will be registered under a uniform system in a bid to secure the country’s maritime borders and strengthen coastal security, the Rajya Sabha was informed Wednesday.
“It has also been decided that all type of boats should be fitted with navigational and communication equipment to facilitate vessel identification and tracking,” Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran said in a written reply.
“A group under the chairmanship of the nautical adviser is working out the specifications of the transponders required for installation on these boats,” he added.
In addition, the government has also decided to issue multipurpose national identity
cards (MNICs) to all usual residents above 18 years in coastal villages including fishermen.
The project covers 3,331 villages along the coastline, with all villages and towns of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands being covered in the first phase, followed by other towns and villages along the coastline in the second phase.
For the first time, direct data collection methodology is proposed to be undertaken for the project.
It has also been decided that all fishermen will be issued ID cards relatable to a single centralised data-base.
The department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries has been designated the nodal agency for the programme.
The application format for the ID cards has been finalised and has been sent to all the coastal states and union territories to commence the data collection process.
The government is planning to use the latest in surveillance and bio-cryptic technologies for identity management.