What's a National Security Strategy & why CDS Gen Chauhan feels India doesn't need one on paper

The Print

23-05-2025

In his newly published book, 'Ready, Relevant and Resurgent: A Blueprint for the Transformation of India's Military', Gen. Chauhan writes that the absence of a document should not be mistaken for the absence of a strategy.
The NSS is a comprehensive document that articulates a country's long-term vision, strategic objectives, threat perceptions and policy direction across all dimensions of national security, including military, internal, economic, cyber, energy and diplomatic domains.
New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has dismissed calls for a written National Security Strategy (NSS), asserting that India already has the requisite structures in place to secure itself.
'Strategic analysts and political pundits often state that India does not have a NSS. That is incorrect and a myopic understanding of the issue. What we don't have is a written document called NSS, which is published periodically by Western nations,' the CDS states in the book, which was released Thursday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
Citing examples, he writes that Israel, 'the most threatened nation on earth', has never released a formal NSS, while Pakistan issued a National Security Policy in 2022 but continues to face economic crisis, political instability and civil-military discord. 'Pakistan had the written document but lacked organisational structures, processes and policies to secure itself,' he adds.
Gen. Chauhan contends that the strategic coherence behind the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories illustrates the presence of an existing national security framework. 'Such decisions would not have been possible without the elements, 'Policy, Processes and Organisational Structures' that constitute the National Security Strategy (NSS),' he writes.
This is not the first time the CDS has questioned the utility of a written NSS. Last year as well, at a book launch in May, he had made similar remarks, stating that an NSS comprised 'policy, processes and practices', all of which India already had. 'The only thing missing is a written policy. I don't know why people insist on that,' he had said.
The CDS had also argued that the absence of a written NSS had not prevented India from successfully executing strategic actions like the Balakot and Uri strikes, or the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
But just a few months later, in November, Gen. Chauhan appeared to reverse course. At an event titled 'Future Wars and the Indian Armed Forces' in New Delhi, he said a 'written (national security) document' was indeed being prepared.
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Where does India stand
While countries such as the US, China, and Russia routinely publish such documents, either in full or abridged form, India has never officially released one, despite recurring demands and several attempts.
In 2021, former CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat had flagged the absence of a clearly articulated NSS as a significant shortcoming. Additionally, former Army Chief Gen. M.M. Naravane echoed this in 2022, warning that creating theatre commands without an overarching national security strategy would be ill-advised.
The conversation around an NSS first gained traction in the aftermath of the 1999 Kargil War, when the Kargil Review Committee led by K. Subrahmanyam called for major structural reforms to India's national security architecture. This led to the establishment of the National Security Council (NSC), Strategic Policy Group (SPG), National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).
In 2007, a draft NSS was prepared by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and submitted to the National Security Adviser and the Prime Minister's Office. However, it did not receive approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and was never adopted.
The government set up the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) under NSA Ajit Doval in 2018, comprising the three service chiefs, the defence secretary, the foreign secretary and the chief of the IDS. One of its core objectives was to formulate an NSS. Though the committee began consultations, no final document emerged.
In 2019, former Northern Army Commander Lt Gen. D.S. Hooda (retd.) had submitted 'a comprehensive and exhaustive' strategy document on national security—informally known as the 'Hooda Document'—to Rahul Gandhi after the Congress party had roped in for a task force to prepare a vision paper for the country.
More recently, in 2023 and 2024, the NSCS initiated inter-ministerial consultations to frame a comprehensive strategy. However, no public update or timeline has since been announced.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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