France, India ink pact for marine aid, navigation training

India and France have inked a pact for imparting professional training course of marine aids and navigation at a training centre at Kolkata, the government today said.

"A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) has been signed between the IALA (The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities), Paris, France and DGLL (Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships)," Shipping Ministry said in a statement.

With the signing of this MoA, the DGLL Training Centre at Kolkata will be in position to deliver a professional training course on the management of marine aids to navigation in line with IALA model course itself.

Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL) is primarily responsible for providing "Aids to Navigation service" for safety of mariners in the Indian waters.

Apart from upgrading the skills and capacity of personnel in the country, this Training Centre would also attract personnel from SAARC countries and North Indian Ocean Region countries for training, the statement said.