The Indian Coast Guard [Bharatiya Thatrakshak] was constituted as the fourth armed union of India, on 19 August 1978, under the Coast Guard Act. The force's main function is to protect India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), covering an area of 2.02 million sq. km, and operates under the effective control of the Ministry of Defense. Coast Guard vessels and aircraft have been assisting the custom authorities in anti-smuggling operations and has effectively served national interests in high-risk areas. They are also used in SAR operations, anti-pollution and other duties in maritime zones. While protection of the high seas is vested with the Indian Navy, the area between 10 and 30 nautical miles from the shore is under the charge of the Coast Guard and from shore to five nautical miles with the coastal police as well as the Coast Guard.
Emergence of the Coast Guard in India on 01 Feb 1977 as a new service was the result of an awareness that had been growing for some time in the Government for the requirement to enforce National Laws in the waters under national jurisdiction and ensure safety of life and property at sea. 
It was also considered desirable that these law enforcement responsibilities should be undertaken by a service suitably equipped and modelled on the Coast Guards of advanced nations like USA, UK etc leaving the Navy to exercise the fleet for its wartime role.
A committee was, therefore, constituted in Sep 1974 with Mr KF Rustamji as its chairman to study
the problem of seaborne smuggling and the question of setting up a Coast Guard type of organization. This committee recommended the setting up of a Coast Guard Service patterned on the Navy for general superintendence and policing of our seas in peace time under administrative
cover of the Ministry of Defence. The Maritime Zones of India Act was passed on 25 Aug 1976. Under this Act, India claimed 2.01 million sq km of sea area in which she has the exclusive rights for exploration and exploitation of resources, both living and non-living at sea.Following this a Cabinet decision was taken by which an interim Coast Guard Organization came into being on 01 Feb 1977. 
Moraji Desai Inspecting the Guard Of Honor at the Official Ceremony in August 1978 .The Coast Guard in its present shape was formally inaugurated on 18 Aug 1978 as an independent armed force of the union with the enactment of the Coast Guard Act 1978 by the Parliament with its motto as `VAYAM RAKSHAMAH; which means `WE PROTECT'.
It's responsibilities include: 1• Enforcing the provisions of enactment in force in the maritime zones.
2• Assisting the Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations.
3• To preserve & protect the marine environment and control marine pollution.
4• Measures for safety of life and property at sea including aid to mariners in distress.
5• Ensuring the safety & protection of artificial islands, offshore terminals and other installations in MR zones.
The Coast Guard is the nodal agency for oil spill response in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under the national oil disaster contingency plan. 
Currently, the Coast Guard has capability to combat oil pollution up to 10,000 tons (Tier-II) and is in the process of upgrading its capability to more than 10,000 tons (Tier-III). Towards this, three pollution control vessels (refer to the 'Coast Guard Fleet' sub-section) are being inducted into the fleet, the first of which is likely to be commissioned in September 2006.
The Coast Guard has a strength of approximately 1000 officers and 5200 other personnel. The force is led by a Director General and a Deputy Director General.
.The Indian Coast Guard's Central HQ is located in New Delhi with regional HQs at Mumbai, Chennai, Port Blair and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.India has a 7,516 km coastline, 1197 islands and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spanning 2.02 million sq km, which is expected to go up to almost 3 million sq km after the delimitation of the continental shelf. The Coast Guard has also seen a sharp increase in piracy on the high seas, smuggling contrabands, search-and-rescue operations and to prevent 'possible' covert transfers of weapons of mass destruction and thus additional personnel & equipment will be needed to effectively carry out its duties.
The Coast Guard realizes that ship traffic in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay is expected to grow immensely, with the Sethusamudram Saythu ship canal project, currently being built near Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu as a shorter maritime route between India's eastern and western coasts. The force is also gradually taking over the activities related to Operation Tasha and Operation Swan, currently conducted by the Indian Navy. Operation Tasha involves patrolling conducted in the Palk Bay, along the Tamil Nadu coast, mainly due to terrorist activities and the influx of refugees. Operation Swan began after the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, to enhance coastal security and patrolling on the west coast against suspicious movement of hostile ships.