30 September: maritime security and sea trade
Wednesday 30 September 2026
GS Paper 3 · 250 words · 15 marks
Why is maritime security vital to protect India's sea trade? Discuss maritime and coastal security challenges and the way forward.
(UPSC Mains 2025, GS Paper 3, Q20)
Set a timer for 11 minutes. Write your answer before you read anything below.
Open only after you have written
How to approach this question
What the question asks.
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Why is maritime security vital to protect sea trade? | How much trade goes by sea, and what a disruption costs |
| Discuss maritime and coastal security challenges | Threats at sea and on the coast, each with a named case |
| The way forward | Three or four specific steps that go beyond what exists |
A shape that works in 250 words.
- Introduction. The share of trade that moves by sea, and the length of the coastline.
- Why it is vital. Energy imports, and one recent disruption to shipping.
- Challenges. Terrorism, narcotics, accidents and coordination, one line and one case each.
- What exists. Two or three measures taken since 2008, with years.
- Way forward. Steps that fix the gaps you named.
What to avoid.
| Mistake | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Opening with the history of the Navy | Open with trade, because the question does |
| 26/11 as the only challenge | Add smuggling, attacks on shipping and accidents |
| Listing measures with no years | Give a year for each one |
| "Coastal security must be strengthened" as the way forward | Name the step and the agency |
A model answer
Nearly 95% of India's trade by volume and about 70% by value moves by sea (PIB, 2025). The coastline, re-measured in 2024, is 11,098 km long.
Why it is vital
- Energy. Imported crude oil arrives by tanker, much of it through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Disruption is costly. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea from late 2023 pushed many ships onto longer routes. The Navy's Operation Sankalp responded to 18 incidents in its first 100 days.
Challenges
- Terrorism from the sea. The 2008 Mumbai attackers came from Karachi in a hijacked trawler, the Kuber.
- Narcotics. Officials seized 2,988 kg of heroin at Mundra in 2021, and 6,016 kg of methamphetamine near the Andamans in 2024.
- Accidents and pollution. MSC Elsa 3 sank off Kochi in May 2025, spilling oil and containers.
- Coordination. The Navy, Coast Guard, state marine police, customs and ports answer to different ministries and states.
What exists
After 2008, the Navy was made responsible for overall maritime security and the Coast Guard for territorial waters. A chain of 46 coastal radar stations was built. The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region opened in Gurugram in 2018. India appointed its first National Maritime Security Coordinator in 2022.
Way forward
- Complete phase II of the radar chain, which adds 38 stations.
- Give the coordinator statutory powers over every agency.
- Train and equip state marine police.
- Share surveillance data with Indian Ocean partners under the MAHASAGAR vision of 2025.
Word count: 238.
Why this answer works. The first line answers the "why" with a figure and a source. The challenges rest on named cases with years. The way forward fixes the gaps the answer named, with the agency that would act.
Where it could be stronger. It could give one figure for the cost of the Red Sea diversions to Indian exporters, if you have a source you trust.