The Government of India has initiated the process of coming up with a National Security Strategy and for this the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has started collecting inputs from various central ministries and departments.A National Security Strategy document outlines the country’s security objectives and the ways to be adopted to achieve these.An NSS should consider traditional (affect only the state) and non-traditional threats(affect the state, individual and the entirety of humanity). Also, It must work within the framework of India’s Constitution and democratic principles.
Need for National Security Strategy in India
- National security strategy for India has been a recurring topic in military discussions. However, despite various efforts, it has yet to be formulated and implemented due to the lack of a cohesive, whole-of-government effort, and the government has deliberately not made its national security objectives public.
Urgency amid grave threats and geopolitical uncertainties
- Given the multifaceted nature of emerging threats and increasing uncertainties in global geopolitics, there is an urgent need to develop a national security strategy in India.
Call for revising the role of existing instructions and military reforms
- The former Army Chief General has stressed the outdated nature of the current political direction for the armed forces and the need to revise it.
- The Defense Minister’s Operational Directive of 2009 is the only political directive currently in force for the armed forces.
- Experts have emphasized that significant military reforms such as theaterization of the armed forces should arise from a broader national security strategy.
- The absence of such a strategy has been compared to attempting military reforms without a clear roadmap or plan.
Countries with national security strategy
- Most developed countries with advanced military and security infrastructure have a national security strategy in place, which is updated from time to time.
- The US, UK and Russia have published national security strategies.
- China also has a strategy, called comprehensive national security, which is closely linked to its governance structure.
- Pakistan has also introduced a National Security Policy, 2022-2026, outlining its national security objectives and priority areas.