Defence Planning Committee

The Defence Planning Committee was notified by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in April 2018, the National Security Adviser (NSA) was appointed as the chairperson of the committee, with the chairperson, Chiefs of Staff Committee, three service chiefs (Chief of the Army Staff, Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Naval Staff), defence, foreign and expenditure secretaries being its members and the chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS) being its member-secretary,[2][3][4] the NSA was also given the mandate to co-opt members as they see fit. The Integrated Defence Staff headquarters at Kashmir House, New Delhi was to serve as the committee's secretariat.[2][3]

NSA Ajit Doval chaired the committee's first meeting on 3 May 2018, which was attended by the three chiefs of staff, and defence, foreign and expenditure secretaries.[5] The first meeting discussed the topics under mandate of DPC and ways to expedite modernisation of the armed forces and evolving a security strategy.[1]

The mandate of DPC is manifold; the committee is empowered to "analyse and evaluate all relevant inputs relating to defence planning", which consists of—amongst others—"national defence and security priorities, foreign policy imperatives, operational directives and associated requirements, relevant strategic and security-related doctrines, defence acquisition and infrastructure development plans, including the 15-year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP), defence technology and development of the Indian defence industry and global technological advancement".[6][7][8]

The committee is also vested with the power of preparing different drafts, including—but not limited to—drafts on: "national security strategy, strategic defence review and doctrines; international defence engagement strategy; roadmap to build defence manufacturing eco-system; strategy to boost defence exports; and prioritised capability development plans for the armed forces over different time-frames in consonance with the overall priorities, strategies and likely resource flows."[6][7][8]

The DPC answers to—and submits its reports to—the Raksha Mantri (Minister of Defence), currently Rajnath Singh.

According to the notification issued by Indian Government the DPC will have several mandates namely to[5]

1. Prepare a draft National Security Strategy.
2. Develop a capability development plan.
3. Work on defence diplomacy issues.
4. Improving defence manufacturing ecosystem in India.

DPC would also analyse all inputs relating to the defence planning and foreign policy imperatives. The committee would focus on the defence acquisition and infrastructure development plans including the 15-year long integrated perspective plan. The committee will work for the development of Indian defence industry and technology advancements.[1]

Four sub-committees on: policy and strategy, plans and capability development, defence diplomacy and defence manufacturing ecosystem come under the DPC; the terms of reference and membership of the sub-committees are finalised separately. Specific issues are managed by the committee through its sub-committees.

DPC is chaired by the National Security Adviser, with the service chiefs, defence, expenditure and foreign secretaries being its members and the IDS chief being its member-secretary. The Integrated Defence Staff headquarters in New Delhi serves as the secretariat for the committee. The DPC submit its reports to the Raksha Mantri (Minister of Defence).[5]

Members

Members of the Defence Planning Committee

Position	Incumbent	Portrait	Ex-officio status
National Security Adviser	Ajit Doval, IPS (retd.)		Chairperson
Permanent Chairperson, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Defence Staff	General Bipin Rawat
Chief of the Naval Staff	Admiral Karambir Singh		Member
Chief of the Army Staff	General Manoj Mukund Naravane
Chief of the Air Staff	Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Defence Secretary	Ajay Kumar, IAS
Expenditure Secretary	T. V. Somanathan, IAS
Foreign Secretary	Vijay Gokhale, IFS
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff	Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar		Member-Secretary

Former Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy—who was a part of the Naresh Chandra task-force—praised the move, calling it "an outstanding move";[9] but, criticised the government's decision to not include the Defence Production Secretary and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairperson in the committee, dubbing them "key players" in the government's flagship Make in India initiative.[9]

Amit Cowshish, a former Financial Adviser (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defence, criticised the committee's "wide mandate", calling it an obstacle from "swift reform".[10] Cowshish also criticised the timing of DPC's creation, calling it a step taken "four years too late",[10] further adding that the creation of the committee called "into question the relevance of the existing long-term, five-year and annual plans of the armed forces".[10]

Mohinder Puri, a former deputy chief of the army, praised the government's decision, saying, "on the face of it, the DPC looks good, as it takes the overall view of national and international security".[9] A The Week column questioned the decision of naming the NSA as DPC's chairperson, arguing that NSA is already overworked as it is being the PM's special representative on border issues with China and chief of the executive council of Nuclear Command Authority.[9]

A retired army brigadier criticised the government's decision of not including the Home Secretary in the committee.