India needs national security policy, long-term defence funds, say ex-service chiefs & bureaucrats

At a discussion on civil-military relations held at the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi, former military chiefs, retired bureaucrats, and forme...

What Happened

At a discussion on civil-military relations held at the India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi, former military chiefs, retired bureaucrats, and former diplomats identified structural gaps in India's defence planning, procurement, and coordination architecture.
Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash called for a dedicated cadre of civil servants with long-term expertise in defence contract management, procurement, and military technology — arguing that generalist IAS officers rotated through defence portfolios lack the institutional continuity needed for complex procurement.
Former Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General D.S. Hooda highlighted the absence of multi-year financial predictability in defence budgeting, noting that "defence funds are processed on a yearly basis, thus leaving very little financial predictability to sustain multi-year procurement programmes."
Former Defence Secretary N.N. Vohra called the absence of a written National Security Policy "unacceptable," proposing a specialised administrative cadre to manage the security apparatus across states.
Former Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra advocated for granting the armed forces direct ownership of defence hardware procurement to bypass bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran emphasised the need to embed the national security apparatus — including the NSC — within a clear constitutional and legislative framework to ensure institutional stability and accountability.
Structural asymmetries in pay and hierarchy created by successive Pay Commissions, which have favoured civilian cadres over military officers, were identified as a recurring friction point in civil-military coordination.

Static Topic Bridges

India's National Security Architecture — NSC, NSA, and NSCS

India's national security management system is a three-tier structure that operates without a standalone legislative framework — a gap highlighted repeatedly by former officials.

National Security Council (NSC): The apex decision-making body on national security; chaired by the Prime Minister; members include the Deputy PM (when present), Home Minister, Defence Minister, External Affairs Minister, Finance Minister, and the National Security Adviser (NSA).
Strategic Policy Group (SPG): Second tier; chaired by Cabinet Secretary; comprises service chiefs, heads of intelligence agencies, and senior secretaries — provides inputs to NSC.
National Security Advisory Board (NSAB): Third tier; non-governmental experts providing strategic analysis and recommendations.
National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS): Permanent bureaucratic secretariat supporting the NSC; has four verticals: Strategic Planning, Internal Affairs, Intelligence, and Technology, plus a Military vertical; revamped in July 2024 with an Additional NSA appointed.
Key gap: None of these bodies are established by statute — they rest on executive orders and resolutions, making them vulnerable to institutional discontinuity.

Connection to this news: Former Foreign Secretary Saran's call to embed the national security apparatus within constitutional frameworks directly addresses the absence of legislative anchoring for the NSC structure.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Theaterisation

The Chief of Defence Staff was created in January 2020 following the Kargil Review Committee and subsequent reform recommendations, representing the most significant structural reform in India's civil-military architecture in decades.

CDS is the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) and head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) within the Ministry of Defence.
Primary mandate: foster joint operations and achieve theaterisation — the integration of Army, Navy, and Air Force assets into unified Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) under a single commander.
Three proposed theatre commands: Northern Theatre Command (Lucknow, China-focused), Western Theatre Command (Jaipur, Pakistan-focused), Maritime Theatre Command (Thiruvananthapuram).
Lieutenant General N.S. Raja Subramani (Retd) appointed as the next CDS effective May 30, 2026, expected to accelerate theaterisation.
Key resistance: Each service has historically guarded its own command structures; the Air Force has raised concerns about asset allocation in theatre commands.

Connection to this news: Theaterisation is itself a structural civil-military reform, and its slow progress — over five years since CDS creation — illustrates exactly the coordination deficit and lack of long-term planning that the IIC discussion flagged.

Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2020) and Capital Budgeting

Defence procurement is governed by the Defence Acquisition Procedure, which was comprehensively revised in 2020 to prioritise indigenous procurement and streamline acquisition.

DAP 2020 replaced the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016; introduced categories including "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" (Indian design, development, and manufacture) as the highest priority.
Promotes Make in India through the Defence Acquisition category hierarchy: Buy (Indian-IDDM) > Buy (Indian) > Buy and Make (Indian) > Buy and Make > Buy (Global-Manufacture in India) > Buy (Global).
Capital expenditure in defence budget: India's defence capital outlay (for procurement) has historically hovered around 25–30% of the total defence budget; the remainder is revenue (salaries, maintenance).
Structural problem: Annual budgeting means multi-year capital acquisition programmes face uncertainty in commitment authority, hampering long-term contracts with defence manufacturers.
Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP): A 15-year defence capability planning document prepared by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS); however, annual budgetary processes do not align with its requirements.

Connection to this news: Lt Gen Hooda's critique of annual budgeting directly targets this structural disconnect between long-range planning instruments like LTIPP and the yearly appropriation cycle.

Kargil Review Committee and Reform Trajectory

The Kargil Review Committee (KRC), constituted in 1999 after the Kargil conflict, produced the foundational audit of India's national security architecture and recommended sweeping reforms in civil-military integration.

Kargil Review Committee (2000): Chaired by K. Subrahmanyam; recommended creation of a CDS, theatre commands, stronger intelligence coordination, and a National Security Strategy.
Group of Ministers Report (2001): Accepted most KRC recommendations; led to NSC upgrades and ultimately to the eventual creation of CDS in 2020.
Naresh Chandra Task Force (2012): Reviewed progress of post-Kargil reforms; recommended Permanent Chairman of CoSC as an interim step before full CDS; found many reforms unimplemented two decades later.
Shekatkar Committee (2016): Recommended enhancing combat capability of the armed forces and rebalancing expenditure.
Persistent gap: None of these reform exercises produced a legislated National Security Policy or a dedicated defence specialist cadre in the civil services.

Connection to this news: The IIC discussion essentially documents that the structural gaps identified by Kargil Review Committee in 2000 — absent a National Security Policy, siloed procurement, weak civil-military expertise — remain largely unresolved 26 years later.

Key Facts & Data

National Security Council (NSC): established 1998; three-tier structure (NSC, SPG, NSAB); no statutory basis
NSCS revamped July 2024: Additional NSA post filled; four verticals — Strategic Planning, Internal Affairs, Intelligence, Technology
CDS created: January 2020; Department of Military Affairs (DMA) created under MoD
Proposed theatre commands: Northern (Lucknow), Western (Jaipur), Maritime (Thiruvananthapuram)
Next CDS: Lt Gen N.S. Raja Subramani (Retd), effective May 30, 2026
DAP 2020: Replaced DPP 2016; prioritises Buy (Indian-IDDM) category; promotes Make in India
LTIPP: 15-year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan — prepared by Integrated Defence Staff
Kargil Review Committee: 2000, chaired by K. Subrahmanyam; first called for CDS and theatre commands
Naresh Chandra Task Force: 2012; reviewed post-Kargil reforms; found most unimplemented
Key structural gaps identified at IIC discussion: no National Security Policy, no multi-year defence funding, no specialist defence civil service cadre, NSC lacks legislative backing
Civil-military constitutional framework: Article 53 (executive power in President), Article 74 (Council of Ministers' aid and advice), Article 53(2) (Supreme Command of Armed Forces in President) — civilian supremacy assured but not always operationally efficient