Source: PIB
Context: The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are conducting two major maritime exercises — NATPOLREX-X (2025) off Chennai and Exercise Konkan-25 off the western coast — to strengthen India’s preparedness.
About Exercise in News:
- Host & Organiser: Conducted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) from October 5–6, 2025, off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- Participants: Central ministries, coastal state governments, major ports, oil-handling agencies, maritime organisations, and over 40 foreign observers from 32 countries.
- Aim: To assess and enhance India’s national capability to respond to marine oil spills and test inter-agency coordination under the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP).
- Features:
- Deployment of ships and aircraft equipped with pollution-control technology.
- Demonstration of India’s multi-tiered pollution response strategy.
- Focus on sustainable maritime practices and environmental protection.
- Host & Nations Involved: A bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy (United Kingdom), conducted from October 5–12, 2025, off India’s western coast.
- Aim: To improve interoperability, maritime domain awareness, and joint operational readiness between the two navies.
- Features:
- Two phases — harbour and sea phase — including professional exchanges, joint working groups, and complex maritime drills.
- Focus areas: anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare, flying operations, and seamanship evolutions.
- Assets: Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and UK’s HMS Prince of Wales (UK Carrier Strike Group 25), along with assets from Norway and Japan.
