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International Relations GS 2 In the news 4 times

India's Maritime Doctrine

SAGAR and MAHASAGAR

India's approach to Indian Ocean security rests on two key doctrinal visions. SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) was articulated by PM Modi in March 2015 during a visit to Mauritius, envisioning India as a collaborative security provider. Building on this, the MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision was announced in 2025, extending the cooperative maritime framework beyond the Indian Ocean to a wider Indo-Pacific engagement.

Key details
  • SAGAR (2015): Emphasizes cooperative maritime security, capacity building of smaller IOR navies, blue economy, disaster response
  • MAHASAGAR (2025): Broadens engagement to 70+ nations; underpins MILAN 2026 and the concurrent hosting of IFR and IONS
  • India's Maritime Security Strategy (2015): Identifies IOR as India's "primary area of interest" and the wider Indo-Pacific as its "secondary area of interest"
  • India maintains naval cooperation agreements with over 20 countries and conducts bilateral exercises with the US (Malabar), Japan (JIMEX), France (Varuna), Australia (AUSINDEX), and others
In the news

Tracked since February 14, 2026 · last seen August 26, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

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