Defence and Internal Security as part of planning
The new 15-year long-term vision has also included defence and internal security within its ambit. This entails strategic analysis of those aspects of security which are dependent on other aspects such as external affairs, economic issues and technology issues. This would require NITI Aayog to specify the targets, fix milestones, ensure financial flow, steer programmes through roadblocks, and monitor the outcomes jointly with ministries and other departments.
Background
The latest SIPRI report puts India at fifth position in the world among largest spenders on military. However, there is an absence of a comprehensive national security framework document; and an overarching organization to formulate and execute all-inclusive defence plans, cohesive defence planning, pragmatic thinking about financial viability and outcome oriented monitoring for civil services.
Role of NITI Aayog
We all know that current defence plans are poorly coordinated and highly disjointed. For example, each armed service prepared its own plans and these plans are put together by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS). For their part, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Ordnance Factories Board (OFB), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) prepare their own plans without any meaningful interaction between them or with the armed forces.
Further, apart from the core function of defence preparedness, there are several related areas where a meaningful role of NITI Aayog can be game changer. While the core area of defence preparedness can be left with MoD, the other areas such as development of infrastructure, especially rail and road networks in the border areas; tunnel networks, harbours and ports for the Navy and Coast Guard, airstrips and airports (especially in the North East), smart cantonments, and accommodation for personnel by adopting the public-private partnership model; are some of the areas where inputs from NITI Aayog can be meaningful. Further, NITI Aayog can also chalk out possibility of better management of defence land, particularly military farms, looking out for possibility of revenue generation also.
