The National Security Council (NSC) (

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: ''Rāṣṭrīya Surakṣā Pariṣad'') of India is an executive government body tasked with advising the

prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

on matters of

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

and

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. It was established by the former prime minister of India

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

on 19 November 1998, with

Brajesh Mishra Brajesh Chandra Mishra (29 September 1928 – 28 September 2012) was an Indian politician and diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service who is best known for serving as the first National Security Advisor of India from 1998 to 2004. He also se ...

as the first National Security Advisor.

Members

Besides the National Security Advisor (NSA), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Additional National Security Advisor, the Deputy National Security Advisors, the Ministers of Defence, External Affairs,

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, and the vice chairman of the

NITI Aayog The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of the Republic of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and foste ...

are members of the National Security Council. Under the revamp of National Security Council Secretariat on 1 July 2024 the post of Additional National Security Advisor was filled up in the National Security Council Secretariat which was vacant till now, this move now frees up the NSA from the task of internal security management and threat analysis which will from now be looked upon by the Additional NSA sparing the NSA to directly assist the Prime Minister's Office in the other ongoing security challenges.

Organisational Structure

The NSC is the apex body of the three-tiered structure of the national security management system in India which exercises its power through National Security Council Secretariat having four verticals namely Strategic Planning, Internal Affairs, Intelligence and Technology and a Military vertical. The three tiers of the National Security Council are the Strategic Policy Group, the National Security Advisory Board and a secretariat from the Joint Intelligence Committee.

Strategic Policy Group

The Strategic Policy Group is the first level of the three-tier structure of the National Security Council. It forms the nucleus of the decision-making apparatus of the NSC. National Security Advisor

Ajit Doval Ajit Kumar Doval, Kirti Chakra, KC (born 20 January 1945) is an Indian bureaucrat and spymaster, who is currently serving as the National Security Advisor of India since 2014. A retired Indian Police Service officer of the Kerala cadre, he had p ...

is the chairman of the group and it consists of the following members: * Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog (

Suman Bery Suman Bery is an Indian economist, academic, and writer who is the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. After serving at the World Bank for 28 years, Bery served as the Chief Economist of Oil and Gas supermajor Royal Dutch Shell, based in The Hague, Net ...

) *

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

( T. V. Somanathan, IAS) * Chief of Defence Staff (

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Anil Chauhan) * Chief of the Army Staff (

Upendra Dwivedi) * Chief of the Naval Staff (

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Dinesh Tripathi) * Chief of the Air Staff (

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Amar Preet Singh) *

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Reserve Bank of India Reserve Bank of India, abbreviated as RBI, is the central bank of the Republic of India, and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system and Indian rupee, Indian currency. Owned by the Ministry of Finance (India), Min ...

(

Sanjay Malhotra Sanjay Malhotra (born 14 February 1968) is an Indian bureaucrat and Indian Administrative Service, IAS officer who is serving as the current and 26th List of governors of the Reserve Bank of India, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India since 11 De ...

) * Foreign Secretary ( Vikram Misri, IFS) * Defence Secretary ( Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS) *

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

( Govind Mohan, IAS) * Finance Secretary (Ajay Seth, IAS) *

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, R&AW ( Ravi Sinha, IPS) * Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency (

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

D S Rana) *

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, Intelligence Bureau ( Tapan Deka, IPS) *

, Defence Production (Sanjeev Kumar, IAS) * Scientific Advisor to the

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

( G. Satheesh Reddy) * Chairman of

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

(Samir V. Kamat) *

( Atomic Energy) and ''

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'' Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (Ajit Kumar Mohanty) *

(

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) and ''

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Indian Space Research Organization The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister o ...

( V. Narayanan) The Strategic Policy Group undertakes the ''Strategic Defence Review'', a blueprint of short and long term security threats, as well as possible policy options on a priority basis.

National Security Advisory Board

The brainchild of the first National Security Advisor (NSA),

, a former member of Indian Foreign Service. The National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) consists of a group of eminent national security experts outside of the government. Members are usually senior retired officials, civilian as well as military, academicias and distinguished members of civil society drawn from and having expertise in Internal and External Security, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Science & Technology and Economic Affairs. The first NSAB, constituted in December 1998, headed by the late K. Subrahmanyam produced a draft Nuclear Doctrine for the country in 2001, a Strategic Defence Review in 2002 and a National Security Review in 2007. The board meets at least once a month, and more frequently as required. It provides a long-term prognosis and analysis to the NSC and recommends solutions and address policy issues referred to it. Initially the board was constituted for one year, but since 2004–06, the board has been reconstituted for two years. The tenure of the previous NSAB, headed by former Foreign Secretary

Shyam Saran Shyam Saran (born 4 September 1946) is an Indian career diplomat. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970 and rose to become the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. Prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary he served as ...

, ended in January 2015. It had 14 members. The new board was re-constituted in July 2018, with P. S. Raghavan, former Indian Ambassador to Russia (2014–16), as its head. It had a tenure of two years. The board is again reconstituted in April 2025 with Alok Joshi as Chairman, NSAB.It currently has 7 members and advices NSC on various security policy formulation and goals, and reports to the NSA on the ongoing development. The NSAB has currently two subordinate bodies working under it : (i) National Information Board (NIB) and (ii) Technology Coordination Group (TCG). Currently the board has the following members:

Joint Intelligence Committee

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) of the

analyses intelligence data from the Intelligence Bureau,

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the Republic of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, and a ...

and the Directorates of

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

and

Air Intelligence An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

and thus analyses both domestic and foreign intelligence. The JIC has its own Secretariat that works under the Cabinet Secretariat.

Cyber Security

National Cyber Security Strategy is formulated by the Office of National Cyber Security Coordinator at the National Security Council Secretariat. The National Security Council Secretariat and National Information Board headed by National Security Adviser to whom National Cyber Coordination Centre reports are at working under the cyber security surveillance helping in framing India's cyber security policy. It aims to protect the cyber space including critical information infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage. In 2014 the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre under the

National Technical Research Organisation The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency of India. It was set up in 2004. The agency reports to the National Security Advisor (India), National Security Advisor and to the Prime Minister's Office (I ...

mandated the protection of critical information infrastructure. In 2015, the Office of National Cyber Security Coordinator was created to advice the Prime Minister on strategic cyber security issues. In the case of nodal entity, India's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) is playing a crucial role under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MEITY). On 15 June 2021, the Government of India launched the Trusted Telecom Portal signalling the coming into effect of the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector (NSDTS). Consequently, with effect from 15 June 2021 the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are mandatorily required to connect in their networks only those new devices which are designated as ''Trusted Products'' from ''Trusted Sources''.

References

External links

Official website of the National Security Advisory BoardTrusted Telecom Portal - National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector

Center for Contemporary Conflict - Indian Internal Security and Intelligence Organization

FAS - Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence

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