India is poised to establish a National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre (NMDAC) in response to emerging threats in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

NMDAC

• The Indian Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, is on track to upgrade into the National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre in about three years.

Objective - The primary objective of the NMDAC is to meticulously gather, analyze, and provide actionable intelligence to address maritime challenges.

• The center will maintain vigilant oversight of the expanding Chinese naval activities within the IOR.
• Once operational, the NDMA Centre will house people from 15 agencies under seven Ministries enabling exchange of maritime information in real-time across the board.
• The involved ministries include petroleum, defense, fisheries, shipping, among others.

BEL - Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a defense public sector undertaking, is entrusted with the responsibility of providing all the requisite hardware and software necessary for the NMDAC.

IMAC

• IMAC is the nodal agency for maritime information and monitoring and was set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• Approved by the Defence Acquisition Council in 2012, the IMAC became operational in 2014 and is located in Gurugram.
• IMAC serves as the nodal center of the National Command, Control, and Intelligence (NC3I) Network, and the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in 2018.
• Both function as hubs for maritime domain awareness for domestic and international information sharing.
• NC3I - It is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence System (NC3I).
• It is spearheaded by the Indian Navy.
• NC3I was established to link the operational Centres and lower echelons of Navy and Coast Guard spread across the country’s coastline including the island territories.
• The NC3I, , links 51 stations, comprising 20 Navy and 31 Coast Guard stations, providing a comprehensive, real-time depiction of the approximately 7,500-km long coastline.

IFC-IOR - In the case of the IFC-IOR, the center presently has 12 International Liaison Officers, with plans to increase this number to 40 by 2025-26.

• Additionally, the IFC-IOR has established agreements with 25 countries and 1 international maritime construct concerning the sharing of white shipping information.

Functions of the IMAC -

1. 1. Tracks vessels on the high seas
   2. Gets data from the coastal radars
   3. White shipping agreements
   4. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders fitted on merchant ships
   5. Air and traffic management
   6. Global shipping databases management

Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

• The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a vital maritime area spanning over 36 littoral and island countries.
• The region is strategically important due to its significant trade routes, natural resources, and geopolitical importance.
• It is home to some of the world’s busiest sea-lanes, including the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, which serve as a conduit for international trade.
• Major portion of the world population and comparatively younger population resides in this region.