Coast Guard to be responsible for coastal security: PM

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) The Coast Guard will henceforth be solely responsible for guarding India's coastline with the navy providing the backup, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared here Thursday.

'It has been decided that the sole responsibility for protecting the coastline will be entrusted to the Coast Guard,' the prime minister said while replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the security scenario in the country in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks.

'The navy will provide the backup,' Manmohan Singh added.

'We have to strengthen our measures against asymmetrical threats from the sea,' the prime minister said, adding: 'There is need for stronger measures but progress on the ground has been tardy and slow.'