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Santhanam, who played a pivotal role along with Dr R Chidambaram in India's nuclear tests of May 1998, succeeds Air Commodore (retired) Jasjit Singh, who headed IDSA for more than 14 years.
The government had cleared Santhanam's appointment in June.
Santhanam began his career in the Department of Atomic Energy and worked with the Defence Research and Development Organisation for more than four decades. Popularly known as 'Santy', he is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of the country's highest civilian awards.
IDSA, established in 1965 to conduct research on national security issues, was recently mired in an unseemly controversy following reports that some of its leading researchers had resorted to plagiarism in their papers. Outgoing director Singh initiated action in the matter.
In recent years, the think-tank has played an increasingly important role in helping the armed forces shape their operational doctrines and plans for the future.
In addition to organising courses for civilian bureaucrats, IDSA has also been holding strategic dialogues with think-tanks in Japan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Indo-Asian News Service
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