Finally, After Years Of Delay, India To Start Work On Long-Awaited National Security Strategy

India is set to formulate its first-ever national security strategy (NSS) following extensive discourse and deliberations within the military and the strategic community, reported The Indian Express.

The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is working on a comprehensive strategy in consultation with various central ministries.

The document aims to outline India's national security objectives and strategies to achieve them, addressing both traditional and non-traditional threats. The strategy is expected to be updated periodically to adapt to evolving challenges.

Several countries, including the US, UK, Russia, China and Pakistan, already have their national security strategies in place.

Earlier, India had considered an NSS, with several military experts and officials advocating its necessity. However, hesitations at the political level stalled previous attempts.

The current initiative comes in response to complex traditional and non-traditional threats, necessitating the drafting of a comprehensive strategy to harness India's national power effectively.

It is expected to serve as a guide for military and defence reforms and enhance overall national security.

India's NSS will address a wide range of contemporary challenges, including economic security, food and energy security, information warfare, critical information infrastructure vulnerabilities, supply chain security, and environmental concerns.

The strategy will be formulated through a whole-of-government approach, involving various ministries, stakeholders and institutions.

The integration of these elements aims to consolidate the challenges unique to India and develop strategies to address them, including resource allocation, considering the prevailing internal and global situations.

In addition, the strategy may include collaboration with non-government entities such as civil society organisations, academia, media and think tanks to tackle non-traditional threats and vulnerabilities effectively.

As India continues to move forward, the strategy's development is expected to foster self-reliance and establish the nation as a global manufacturing hub.

Former army chief General N C Vij highlighted the need for an NSS in 2018, emphasising the importance of providing political direction to the armed forces and revising the existing operational directive.

Major military reforms should ideally stem from an NSS, as indicated by some experts.

However, India's previous attempts to formulate such a strategy were hindered by political hesitations, and according to the Indian Express report, mainly concerning accountability in defence management.