India’s Need for a National Security Strategy

• India’s economic ambitions to be a $4 trillion economy are likely to face challenges due to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
• The economy is the key to all other aspects of national security strategy making, requiring prioritisation within scarce resources.

Interpreting the Term of ‘National Security’
• The term ‘national security’ has different meanings to different states and at different times.
• For the United States, it was centered around a ‘union of our values and national interests’.
• For Joe Biden’s National Security Strategy (NSS), it was centered around maintaining America’s leadership role, which means money.
• The US NSS is the starting point for other documents such as the Defence Department’s National Defense Strategy and the ‘Posture’ document of each service.

National Security Strategy Needs in India
• India needs an NSS that brings together diverse aspects such as defence, finance, investments, and climate change into one coherent whole.
• This exercise needs to be done within the realm of top secrecy for some good reasons.

Multi-alignment in National Security
• Budget speeches make no reference to the ‘enemy’ outside or within.
• The protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity lies at the heart of national security.
• For India, the ‘core value’ has been jettisoned due to the need to defend against a belligerent eastern neighbour of highly unequal economic strength.
• Multialignment means making friends with whoever is capable and willing to provide a possible back up in a crisis, and perhaps defence technology.

National Security Document Importance and Importance

Task Allocation and Equipment Allocation
• The allocation of tasks to each service and the equipment needed to fulfill its mandate is crucial.
• A’strategy’ needs to decide which equipment or service to lean towards and where it falls short.
• India’s submarine strength is about a fourth of China’s, while the picture is even worse in ship-building.
• The drafter could get round the details, but without a clear identification of priorities and weaknesses, it is hardly a worthwhile exercise.

Transparency and Strategic Importance
• Transparency is for the strong, not for those struggling to catch up.
• A secret document needs to highlight serious weaknesses, not just project ‘can do’ bravery.

Public Communication and National Security
• The central message needed for the voting public should be in an open document.
• A written National Security document would allow for foreign policy flexibility and support democracy.

National Security Document and the Economy
• A national security document is an urgent need, not just about defence but also priorities within the economy.
• The task is to integrate all these elements and set a direction for the country to reach its goals quickly.
• The National Security Council Secretariat is more than up to the task.