Information Fusion Centre Indian Ocean Region

The Information Fusion centre for the Indian ocean region was set up in  December 2018. The fusion centre is an initiative of the Indian navy which is supported by the government of India. The centre coordinates with regional countries on maritime issues. The Centre acts as a regional repository of maritime data.

The centre is located in Gurugram, India and the centre has linkages with 21 partner countries and 22 multinational agencies across the globe. The centre is co-located with the information management and analysis centre which is handled together by the Indian Navy and the coast guard.

Some of the functions of the centre are listed below as follows-:

1. The information fusion centre is a hub of maritime information collection, dissemination and fusion among all the partner countries.
2. The main or core objective of the Information Fusion Centre for India ocean is to coordinate with regional countries on maritime safety and security.
3. The information Fusion centre acts as a regional repository of maritime data.
4. Across the vast coastline of the country. It is a single-point centre. That Lanka all coastal chain radar networks and some of the neighbouring countries.
5. Monitoring and Surveillance – the  information fusion centre actively interacts with the maritime community and tracks and monitors 75000 to 1.5 lakh shipping vessels 
6. The centre does real time 24X7 surveillance which can give a better hand during a potential threat impinging the coast of the country.
7. Traffic monitoring-It keeps track of the shipping traffic as well as other important developments in the Indian Ocean region with the help of collaborative effort from the partner countries.
8. It generates a seamless real-time picture and data of the country’s coastline which will help the country in protecting its borders.
9. IFC partner -All countries which have signed white shipping information exchange agreements with India.IFC currently partners with 21 countries and 22 multi-national agencies.
10. Training facilities – the centre plans to conduct training for maritime information sharing and collection.

Recent context 

Recently the UK has sent a liaison officer to the Indian Navy Information Fusion centre for the Indian ocean. The liaison officer works to enhance maritime domain awareness in the region. International Liaison Officers (ILO) from 13 countries have been invited.

Significance of the information fusion centre 

The information fusion centre is significant since the area for which it is made is also significant – The Indian Ocean region. The region is important with respect to world trade and maritime security.

Some of the points of significance are -:

For the security and safety of the seas. The need of the hour is a collaboration among the militaries, countries and agencies to share information and other observed trends in the Indian Ocean region.

Maritime Domain awareness is crucial in the region since a large number of ships, fishing vessels and huge containers transporting crude pass through the region.

Also, constant monitoring and Domain awareness involving identification, constant tracking of vessels is pertinent to prevent any potential threat from the sea. 

The importance of the Indian Ocean region is because it is an economic corridor that drives the global economy. Moreover, the region is also important in terms of population as it is home to a large population.

The region contributes to 75% of the maritime trade and around half of the global oil consumption passes through the region making it further important for the world.

Further, the region is prone to piracy,  terrorism and hence the safety of the region is important.

Since the region is of utmost importance hence the security and safety of the region is not the task of a single country and hence a collaborative effort of like-minded countries to tackle the issues of the Indian Ocean region. Also, the collaborative efforts of these countries will create a conducive environment for Maritime activities and also look for any illegal activities in the region.

Conclusion 

The Information Fusion centre for the Indian ocean region was set up in  December 2018. The fusion centre is an initiative of the Indian navy which is supported by the government of India. The centre coordinates with regional countries on maritime issues. The Centre acts as a regional repository of maritime data. Some of the functions of the centre are maritime information collection, dissemination and fusion among all the partner countries and coordination with regional countries on maritime safety and security. The information Fusion centre acts as a regional repository of maritime data.