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Pant's Task Force recommends NSC be set up on priority basis

George Iype in New Delhi

One-and-a-half months after India conducted the nuclear tests, the prime minister's task force on national security has suggested that setting up an apex National Security Council has become a necessity in the post-nuclear era.

"A system of managing national security in an integrated and coherent manner is an urgent need. This requirement has become even more pressing after May 11," says the report.

The task force, headed by former defence minister K C Pant, submitted the report to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday morning. Constituted on April 14, the other members of task force are Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh and Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses director Air Commodore Jasjit Singh.

The task force members held an hour-long meeting with the prime minister and other senior officials, to discuss the modalities of constituting the NSC, indicating that the government will soon set up the agency to manage national security.

It has recommended that the proposed NSC should be the apex body for decision-making with regard to all security matters and it should consist of a Cabinet committee presided over by the prime minister.

The NSC will be headed by a national security advisor to the prime minister -- who will enjoy Cabinet rank. It will consist of three divisions to undertake three separate, concurrent functions. The first division will look after long-term strategic planning and formulation of national security strategy, the second co-ordination of current decision making and follow-up policy implementation, and the third coordinated intelligence assessment for national security planning and management.

Vajpayee is likely to induct a leading politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party as his national security advisor. But the three NSC wings will be headed by security experts of high standing.

"The three wings of the NSC will have a system of boards to examine options and adopt an integrated approach to planning, co-ordination and intelligence assessments. Small officer-oriented secretariats in each wing will provide analysis and co-ordination support," the task force has recommended.

But the report says the setting up of the NSC should not relegate important ministries to the sidelines. Instead, planning cells for national security needs should be established in key ministries like home, external affairs and finance.

According to the task force, the need of the hour is integrated thinking and coordinated application of the political, military, diplomatic, scientific and technological resources to protect and promote national security goals.

"National security in our context needs to be viewed not only in military terms, but also includes the fields of domestic peace, economic well-being, financial viability, trade policy, technological strength and foreign policy," the report states.

While the task force has proposed that the NSC should draw upon the experiences and relevance of the security systems in other countries, it will have to be firmly situated in India's constitutional and political framework.

"All decision making will continue to remain within the existing ministers and departments, with the NSC acting as the facilitator and assisting in coordination of integrated approach to planning and management of national security in a holistic manner," it said.

The task force has asked the prime minister to ensure that the NSC is established in such a manner that it is answerable to the Union Cabinet and Parliament. At the same time, the apex security agency should be in a position to draw upon the expertise and studies from institutions, think-tanks and security experts.

Analysts feel that after having exploded the nuclear bombs, the Vajpayee government will now set up the NSC soon. One of the NSC's first tasks will be to undertake India's first-ever strategic defence review to analyse the country's security environment in the post-nuclear phase.

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