NEW DELHI: India’s first comprehensive security doctrine — the National Security Strategy (NSS) — is expected to be completed by December this year. The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has almost finalised the doctrine, which provides multi-dimensional understanding on external and internal security challenges and threats together with real-time preparedness.
“Last-minute deliberations are on. The secretariat has received all the relevant inputs from stakeholders. Once approved, the draft will be placed before National Security Council (NSC) — chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approval,” said a senior government officer.
Defence modernisation, technological advancement, cyber resilience, internal security, hybrid threat management, economic stability and strategic diplomacy will be interlinked pillars of the holistic security doctrine so as to anticipate, respond and mitigate threats comprehensively.
The process to formulate the NSS and the National Defence Strategy began under National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s watch in 2018. The NSCS was made the nodal body responsible for drafting the NSS. Deputy NSAs, domain experts, and retired military and senior police officers were drafted for the exercise.
India has not had a security doctrine 26 years since the Kargil war. It’s not that India has never attempted such a doctrine before. Prakash Singh, former member of the National Security Advisory Board, said governments at different periods constituted committees that drafted them. “But they were never approved by the political establishment as they did not want to be bound down by any well-defined policy. Instead, they wanted to retain the discretion to deal with matters in the most politically convenient matter.”
Major General (Rtd) Ashok Kumar said, “NSS is one of the most sought after documents by most countries. While its predictability is good, it also puts a strain for countries like India where emerging threats taking a different shape with every passing day.” Lt General (Rtd) Deependra Singh Hooda said, “The formal articulation of NSS is a very welcome step.”