Military Affairs

About Centre

The Centre for Military Affairs comprises of a mix of serving officers of the Indian Armed Forces and civilian experts. The Centre adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to various issues that impinge upon India’s national security in general and the armed forces in particular. Its research focus is on issues that impact upon national security and capacity-building of the Indian armed forces. Specific areas of focus include: emerging contemporary challenges in warfare, jointness, defence co-operation, maritime security, and military training needs. In addition, the Centre also addresses China- and Pakistan-related issues with a bearing on their interface with Indian security. The Centre closely interacts with military establishments in India and abroad and contributes to policy making by conducting research in areas of significance for the armed forces.

Revision of the DSCO: Human Rights to the Fore

The Doctrine for Sub Conventional Operations (DSCO) is due for review this year. This Brief suggests directions in which the Doctrine can better address the Human Rights factor.

Ali Ahmed
March 22, 2011
Policy Brief

Tracking Policy Research on Military Psychology

It is vital that the Indian army gets pamphlets and text books that are contemporary and promote awareness of modern research and thought.

P. K. Gautam
March 17, 2011
IDSA Comments

Piracy: A Fresh Look is Essential

A fresh look is required at the international level to deal with this scourge effectively. It is time for India to take the lead and push for a change in tack both regionally and in international fora.

Managing the 3Ms of Military Readiness

Money, manpower and material (3Ms) determine a state's capacity to leverage its hard power for fulfilling its national security objectives.

Harinder Singh
January 28, 2011
Issue Brief

Forging India’s Hard Power in the New Century

The changing security environment calls for re-fashioning the use of hard power, which may have to be managed differently in the future.

Harinder Singh
January 24, 2011
Issue Brief

Army ‘Transformation’: A ‘Radical’ One?

A shift in strategic thinking over the past two decades has now led to India being poised between the strategic doctrines of offensive and defensive realism.

Ali Ahmed
January 17, 2011
IDSA Comments

The advantages of ‘Cold Start Minor’

Workable options short of war, as ‘Cold Start Minor’ suggests, would serve as deterrent to informed by the logic of leaving something to chance.

Ali Ahmed
December 13, 2010
IDSA Comments

Professional Military Education: The First Steps in the Indian Context

Human resources will remain a critical element to any professional military education system and this entails careful selection of the senior leadership, faculty, and managerial staff.

Harinder Singh
November 30, 2010
Issue Brief

Obama’s AfPak Review should emphasise on Peace Talks with the Taliban

The US needs to take direct charge of the peace talks prong of strategy to meet the mid-2011 deadline of beginning its troops withdrawal as well as to enable NATO departure by 2014.

Ali Ahmed
November 23, 2010
IDSA Comments

Cold Start as Deterrence against Proxy War

As long as the sub-conventional deterrence holds, the enunciation of the Cold Start doctrine actually introduces a degree of strategic stability in the region.