The Occasional Paper employs the dharmic viewpoint of the Mahabharata to derive the fundamental elements of ancient Indian strategic thought. It evaluates the role of dharma as it shapes war as a defining element of strategic thought.
The budget estimates for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 2024-25 are Rs 621,540.85 crore, constituting 13.04 percent of the total Union Budget and 4.7 per cent higher than BE 2023-24.
As the roadmap and scope of the two pillars of AUKUS are now clearly defined, near-term tangible outcomes can be expected to materialise from 2024 onwards.
The Indian way of conceptualising war, employment of force, use of diplomacy, guidance for soldiering and capability development has a long and rich tradition that emerges from texts like the Mahabharata.
The successful Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea on 13 September 2023 could force the Russian Navy to relocate the Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk on the Russian mainland, which could increase supply chain vulnerabilities.
Policy-makers need to recalibrate modernisation programmes from the earlier focus on traditional military capability needs to a mix of kinetic and non-kinetic hybrid war-fighting capabilities.
The provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions are not relevant in the extant case of supply of dual purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) to Ukraine.
Hybridity in Warfare: A Compelling Dimension in Modern Wars
Policy-makers need to recalibrate modernisation programmes from the earlier focus on traditional military capability needs to a mix of kinetic and non-kinetic hybrid war-fighting capabilities.