Context

• India is set to formulate its first-ever National Security Strategy (NSS) following extensive discourse and deliberations within the military and the strategic community.
• The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is working on a comprehensive strategy in consultation with various central ministries.

What will it take to draft such a strategy?

• The NSS would have to embrace all aspects of security. Military security would be only one aspect of the canvas, which would include economic, internal, diplomatic, human, climate, food, water, and every other conceivable form of security necessary for the well-being of India’s people.
• Military and internal security would be a significant enabler for every other kind of security to be guaranteed. The management of defence and internal security would therefore need to be robust and articulated well.
• The all-encompassing nature of this strategy would require wide consultations. Each of the numerous aspects of security is in itself multidimensional, and would impact the manner in which we conduct business.

What would be the guiding principles of the NSS?

• Doctrine normally precedes strategy. A doctrine is a set of established or agreed principles that guide actions. A strategy is a plan of action that emanates from doctrine.
• While doctrines are more permanent than strategies, they must also remain flexible to cater for changing paradigms and major conceptual shifts. Doctrines must be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain relevant and do not become dogmas. And with every update in doctrine, the strategy must be reviewed.
• Another feature of doctrine and strategy is that they must be taught in order to facilitate a common understanding among planners and practitioners of national security. This is yet another need that the NSS must fulfill.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/expert-explains-national-security-strategy-9016083/