India needs a ‘National Security Strategy’
Context:
With the changes happening in global environment, especially like the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Gaza crisis, the article highlights the need for India to develop a comprehensive National Security Strategy (NSS).
Relevance:
GS-03 (Security)
Dimensions of the Article
- Need for a ‘National Security Strategy’
- Current Challenges
- Way forward
Need for a ‘National Security Strategy’
- The need to develop a holistic National security includes areas like defense, economic stability, and foreign policy.
- India’s security strategy must reflect its foreign policy choices, such as “multi-alignment.” India balances relationships with various global powers like the U.S. (through the Quad) and China (through BRICS), but it faces the challenge of managing conflicting interests while protecting its own security.
Current Challenges
- Resource Allocation: Having limited resources with other important areas to focus like health and education is creating a setback for defense sector. A national strategy must decide the areas of defense that should receive more funds. For instance, it should prioritize improving India’s naval and submarine capabilities to match China’s power in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Balancing Threats: India currently is dealing with China and Pakistan. Moreover, India’s military strength, especially its naval capacity, is weaker compared to China, which complicates security planning.
- Lack of Alliances: Unlike countries like the U.S. or the U.K., India does not believe in formal military alliances. This creates a challenge in forming strong security partnerships, as India cannot rely solely on others for defense.
Way Forward
- It is important for the country to balance resources among sectors like health, defense, and infrastructure to focus on the defense sector.
- Moreover, a national security strategy would need to address how India can protect itself while remaining non-aligned.
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