Non-Traditional Security

About Centre

The Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Centre conducts critical research and analyses in wide-ranging areas like the SDGs, climate change, water, food and energy nexus, low-intensity conflict and the Arctic region. Challenging orthodox thinking and bringing in unconventional ideas, the Centre, has well-established experts with notable publications engaged in addressing the knowledge gaps, facilitating discussions, and interfacing with varied stakeholders. The Centre publishes the bi-monthly NTS Digest covering climate, food, energy and water issues. Members frequently lecture at military and training institutions and share their views at various national and international forums. As part of public awareness and sensitisation, they regularly contribute to mainstream newspapers and appear in media channels. The NTS Centre Coordinator served as Co-Chair of the Think20 Task Force of the G20 on ‘Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda’ during India’s G20 Presidency.

Current Projects

Centre members are working on inter-disciplinary projects like the ‘Indus Waters Treaty: Changing Dynamics and India’s Options’, ‘Human Security Policy for India’, and ‘Impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayan Region’. Areas of output include India’s SDGs targets, India-EU cooperation on climate change, India-Nepal cooperation on energy security, India’s climate adaptation and renewables approach, India-US maritime collaboration, and AFSPA and the Northeast region.

Economic Crises, Currencies and Geopolitical Turning Points

The serial financial crises have exposed deep fault lines in the international financial system, and have prompted a search for a better and more stable global financial structure.

Why Coal Matters in India?

Issues pertaining to coal mafias, coal unions and its politics ought to be addressed if any meaningful reforms or cuts in coal consumption are to be made.

Earth Hour 2010 and India

India has to not only fight over-consumption of resources in metropolitan cities but also make sure that the resources saved percolate down to its rural areas.

Sarita Azad
April 05, 2010
IDSA Comments

Global Warming, Environmentalism and Related Issues: The Other View

The sloppy work of the IPCC in noting that Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 has raised many questions, with even the credibility of scientific opinion coming under doubt.

P. K. Gautam
February 11, 2010
IDSA Comments

Rising China at Copenhagen

Given the divergence of views in the industrialized and industrializing countries as was demonstrated at Copenhagen, it is too early to expect any comprehensive result from the Copenhagen Accord. One needs to wait till June 2010 if the UN meeting at Bonn will yield a different outcome.

Simi Thambi
January 05, 2010
IDSA Comments

Copenhagen Accord has initiated a drift in climate change negotiations

The Copenhagen Accord is weak and a step back from the Bali Action Plan which talked about four pillars of negotiations – mitigation, adaptation, financial support and technology transfer.

Arvind Gupta
January 04, 2010
IDSA Comments

Internet at the Crossroads

The Internet’s blurred boundaries and its existing vulnerabilities have led to unhealthy trends, which, if not addressed adequately, could pose severe problems.

Cherian Samuel
December 31, 2009
IDSA Comments

The beginning of the end of the dollar era?

The ramifications of an end to dollar-based oil trade would extend far beyond the oil market and would herald the beginning of a new international political order.

Swine Flu: A National Security Issue

The security architecture of any state is normally based on traditional concepts like dealing with issues related to war and peace. This is no longer true in the 21st century when threats cannot be defined only in military terms. Swine flu pandemic is an example of this. Such threats demand solutions which lie beyond routine medical cure.

Ajey Lele
August 13, 2009
IDSA Comments

Sino US Climate Pact: Context, text and subtext

The United States and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation on energy, climate change and environment during their recently concluded strategic and economic dialogue (SED). This MoU follows from a previous agreement, the Framework for Ten Year Cooperation of Energy and Environment (TYF) that was signed during the 2008 round of the SED.