Strengthening security, sustainability, and strategic collaboration in India’s Coastal Region

Introduction

On 3rd March 2025, the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) along with the Asia Foundation hosted a webinar titled “Underwater Domain Awareness in Coastal India: Strengthening Security, Sustainability, and Strategic Collaboration.”

This was the fourth webinar, part of the Indian Coastal Think Tank Network (ICTN) Project, supported by the Asia Foundation. The network aims to foster a coalition of coastal think tanks, focusing on themes such as climate change and gender, coastal security, blue economy, disaster management, coastal ecology, fisheries, tourism, maritime domain awareness, and ports and shipping.

The webinar featured two experts on Underwater Domain Awareness – Vice Admiral M P Muralidharan, AVSM & Bar, NM (Retd), Former Director General, Indian Coast Guard; and Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das, Founder & Director, Maritime Research Centre (MRC).

Key Discussion Points

• Role and Importance of the UDA in the Coastal areas
• Coastal Security and Emerging Maritime Threats
• Technological Advancements in UDA
• India’s Strategic Initiatives for UDA
• Local governments/communities role in the UDA Framework  
• International Cooperation and Global Partnerships

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About the Panellists

• VAdm M P Muralidharan, AVSM & Bar, NM (Retd)

Vice Admiral M P Muralidharan retired as DG of the Indian Coast Guard in 2013. In a career spanning close to four decades in the Indian Navy, he has held several key operational and staff appointments, including command of three warships and the Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area. He was also the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy and Chief of Personnel of the Navy.

Post-retirement, he became a Member of the Armed Forces Tribunal, an appointment equivalent to a High Court Judge. He is a regular writer and speaker on Strategic and Maritime Affairs.

VAdm Muralidharan was awarded the “Ati Vishisht Seva Medal” twice by the President of India and is also a recipient of the “Nao Sena Medal”. He is presently a Distinguished Fellow in Maritime Defence Studies at the Centre for Public Policy Research.

• Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das

Arnab is a researcher, maritime strategist, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder & Director of the Maritime Research Centre (MRC) under the Foundation for Underwater Domain Awareness (FUDA), Pune, which is working on a unique concept of Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) as its main focus. He also runs his start-up, M/S NirDhwani Technology Pvt Ltd which provides consultancies and services for high-end maritime security solutions and marine conservation support. He advises start-ups on underwater technology solutions and defence strategies. He has over 100 publications, a book, and two book chapters to his credit.

Arnab was commissioned as an electrical officer in 1994. He was deputed to IIT Delhi in 2001 for his Master’s in Underwater Electronics, and subsequently appointed as the Project Officer at IIT Delhi to manage the Navy’s Underwater R&D. He delivered multiple technology transfers, including for the strategic submarine project related to underwater systems and algorithms. He also completed his PhD from IIT Delhi in 2007 in underwater signal processing.

He was invited to Tokyo University in 2014 as a visiting researcher to participate in the design and development of passive acoustic monitoring systems for freshwater dolphins.  He was also at the Acoustic Research Laboratory of the Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore in 2015 for a year, post his retirement from the Navy to understand underwater technology development from a global perspective.

About the Moderator

• Aleena T Sabu 

Aleena T Sabu is a Research Associate of the International Relations Vertical at the Centre for Public Policy Kochi, Kerala, India. She is currently working on the Indian Coastal Think Tank Network project and had previously worked on a paper with Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan on the Global Security Implications of the Bay of Bengal. Aleena has completed her Master’s in Politics and International Relations from Pondicherry University and Bachelor’s in Political Science (Hons) from Delhi University.

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Summary of the Discussion

• Conceptual clarity: Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) has been defined as a specialized component of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), prioritizing submarine security, sustainability, and strategic cooperation. The importance of UDAs was acknowledged after incidents like the 26/11 Mumbai attack, which showed the need to have technology and community-driven initiatives for improving marine governance and coastal security.

• Technological Framework for India: The UDA framework in India necessitates the integration of cutting-edge technologies, which include remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and advanced acoustic sensors. While these technologies are crucial for India, it becomes important to understand whether India has the capacity to utilise these technologies. The communities in the coastal areas should have access to technology to foster openness.

• Regional and Local Collaboration: The efforts by the country in the promotion of the UDA are not just technology and infrastructure. Governmental organisations, commercial enterprises, and academic institutions must collaborate effectively. The experience and knowledge that a fisherman and a coastal community person have as indigenous knowledge in the underwater ecosystem is unmatched. This knowledge is critical when it comes to validating the data and decision-making in this field.

• Education and Awareness: Educating the coastal residents about the safety, security, and economic benefits of UDA is crucial . Encouraging individuals to adopt these technologies, despite their unfamiliarity or potential risks, presents a significant challenge. Spreading awareness about the benefits of UDA to the local community is crucial to the development of India’s coastal security framework. Establishing educational programs to improve knowledge of UDA technology and related advantages among coastal communities and including indigenous knowledge in UDA structures to support diversity and build confidence.

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Key Takeaways

• Advanced Technology and Difficulties:  Development of technologies in the UDA is only beneficial if the local governments and other bodies are equipped to handle it. Local communities and officials must be trained to use them, only then can we reap the benefits of this technology.

• Local Community Empowerment: Maritime security can also be improved by incorporating the indigenous knowledge of the coastal communities. This also in turn helps in building a strong UDA framework.

• Collaborative Partnerships: Collaboration with other countries is crucial for the progression of the UDA Framework, as it increases the flow of information, while at the same time indigenous information must be kept safely. Information sharing between the countries can lead to more safe and secure seas.

• Information Sharing: As pointed out, the importance of having a knowledge-sharing platform as such which can lead to collaboration between the stakeholders from different nations. It is important for the data about the underwater domain awareness to be filtered and catered according to the needs of the program, for example the data given to a researcher will be different than the data given to the local communities. Then it becomes important to set mechanisms that cater these data differently to different categories of people.

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Click to Watch the Webinar on YouTube