New Delhi: Concerned over the frequent strikes by Somalian pirates, India today decided to get pro-active through deployment of more Naval ships as part of a slew of medium and long-term steps to deal with the maritime brigands who are holding 53 Indians as hostages.

The issue was discussed threadbare at a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which decided to set up an Inter Ministerial Group headed by the Cabinet Secretary to monitor early release of Indian ships or crew or cargo.

The meeting decided to intensify diplomatic efforts through consultations with Governments of Egypt and UAE where the owners of the vessels concerned reside, as also governments of other nationalities who were also being held hostage.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told the Lok Sabha that the CCS "considered proposals with regard to conduct of anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia."

"The Committee approved a series of measures which will be taken by the government to address the legal, administrative and operational aspects of combating piracy. A broad policy framework covering all these aspects was approved," he said.

The measures would involve medium and long term actions to be taken by Ministries of Shipping, External Affairs and Defence, he said.

The meeting, which took place in the backdrop of 53 Indian sea-farers on five ships being in the captivity of Somalian pirates for over a year, decided to adopt a pro-active posture in dealing with the piracy menace.

This would mean deployment of more Naval ships and surveillance assets in the Gulf of Aden and other suspected piracy-prone areas, Defence Ministry sources said after the meeting which was attended by Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma.

The Navy has already deployed three ships and aircraft in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to safeguard Indian interests in the region.

In the recent times, it has also destroyed and sunk pirate motherships off the coast of Lakshadweep and arrested 43 pirates from there in two separate incidents.

The CCS also discussed legal requirements to tackle the pirates as there were no piracy-related laws in the country and a decision on this issue is expected to be taken soon by an inter-ministerial group.

"The Navy and the Coast Guard are likely to get more legal aid to tackle the pirates," they added.

Government also decided to intensify diplomatic efforts at the multilateral level and within the UN framework.

The CCS also decided to formulate suitable standard operating procedures for the Indian Navy and coordination of its activities with its counterparts of friendly foreign countries in the Gulf of Aden, Krishna said.

On the Inter Ministerial Group, he said it would monitor early release of Indian ships and crew and consider welfare measures necessitated after the release of the captured Indian nationals.

The CCS expressed sympathy with the families of the hostages and decided that the government would take all appropriate actions to safeguard their welfare, Krishna said.