ISAS Book Discussion: How India Manages its National Security (2 May 2019)

Dr Arvind Gupta

20190502

About the Book Discussion   In his authoritative and comprehensive survey of the challenges a changing environment poses to India, former Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta outlines the important aspects of the country's security apparatus and how they interface to confront internal and external confl­icts. We have today the turbulent Middle East to the west; a rising and assertive China to the north; Pakistan in the grip of the military; cross-border terrorism and an increasingly militarizing Indian Ocean region surrounding us. Additionally, climate change, cybersecurity and the vulnerability of our space assets are major areas of concern. Anything that weakens a nation weakens its security, which makes the issues of food, water, health, economics, and governance critically significant. Arvind Gupta draws on his long experience in these areas to argue that instead of tactical remedies, a strategic, coherent and institutional approach is needed to deal with these challenges. Strengthening the National Security Council, for instance, could be done way forward.   How India Manages It's National Security explains with great clarity and thoroughness the concept and operation of India's national security apparatus. This book will be of great interest to practitioners, analysts, and laymen alike and offers an important voice in the discussion on how national security challenges should be resolved in the decades to come.   About the Speaker   Dr Arvind Gupta is the Director of Vivekananda International Foundation, a Delhi-based independent, non-partisan think-tank focusing on research on foreign policy, defence, and security-related issues from an Indian perspective. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Deputy National Security Advisor and headed the national Security Council Secretariat in the Government of India. From 2012 to 2014, he was Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi. He is a former diplomat. He is also an Honorary Professor in the Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Punjab University, Chandigarh. His interests are in India’s foreign policy, security, history, culture and civilisation. Having had 20 years of policy-level experience in national security issues, he has publishedseveral books and articles on global, regional and national, security issues as well as foreign policy. His book, How India Manages its National Security, was published by Penguin India Ltd in 2018.   Introductory Remarks Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury Principal Research Fellow, ISAS-NUS; and Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh   ISAS Book Discussion How India Manages its National Security Dr Arvind Gupta Director, Vivekananda International Foundation, India   Chairperson Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury Principal Research Fellow, ISAS-NUS; and Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh