India needs a National Security Strategy

Reference

Recently Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan discussed about the formulation of National Security Strategy (NSS).

What is the National Security Strategy?

• The National Security Strategy document details the country's security objectives and the approaches to achieve them.
• It defines traditional, non-traditional threats and opportunities and also sets the accountability of the agencies responsible for implementing such responsibilities.
  • It is updated from time to time.
• In short, the National Security Strategy guides the military as well as critical defence and security reforms with strategic implications.
• It provides a holistic view of overall national security, threats and the roadmap to address them.
• A top-level Defence Planning Committee was constituted in the year 2018 under the Chairmanship of the National Security Advisor.
  • The aim of which was to prepare NSS and National Defense Strategy. However, there is a lack of clear information regarding the outline of this much-publicized strategy.
• This will include the full range of new challenges and modern threats facing India as well as non-traditional challenges, such as:
  • Financial and economic security
  • food and energy security
  • Information Warfare
  • Reduction of sensitive information infrastructure
  • Vulnerabilities linked to supply chains and the environment

National Security Strategy of Different Countries

• Most developed countries have advanced military and security infrastructure as well as a national security strategy that is updated from time to time.
  • The US, UK and Russia have published national security strategies.
• China has a similar strategy, called comprehensive national security. It 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.
• Most nations, including China, implement NSS and also publish white papers from time to time.

India needs a national security strategy

• There is an urgent need to draft a national security strategy given the complex nature of various traditional and non-traditional threats.
• The current state of India's defence planning is worrying and in transition because:
  • The 5 Year Defence Plans and 15 Year Long Perspective Plans have been discontinued.
  • The new formats of the 10-year Integrated Capability Plan and the 5-year Defence Capability Acquisition Plan are yet to be finalised.
• The current system of review by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and the Auditor General is not consistent with its objectives.
  • These should be supported with net-assessment and statistical tools for periodic audits and predictive and dynamic target setting.
• According to former Army chief Gen NC Vij, the existing political guidelines for the armed forces are the Defence Minister's operational instructions of 2009 which need to be revised.
• Some experts have also underlined that major military reforms should ideally be in line with the national security strategy.

Benefits of a Security Strategy

• A well-designed NSS will promote a “whole of nation” approach and coordinate to harness Comprehensive National Power (CNP).
• It will also enable setting up of modernisation, infrastructure and capacity building for the Atmanirbhar mission.
• The NSS will promote initiatives, innovations and improvements at the cutting edge level.
• NSS is a prerequisite for operationalisation and transformation of theatre commands.
• A clearly defined NSS would surely produce courageous commanders like Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh and Lt Gen Sagat Singh.
• Every NSS has a classified division and it can certainly take care of secrecy.