Indian Way: Strategic Shift of Military and Foreign Policies

About the Book: Since 2014 India’s foreign and military policies have undergone a significant transformation characterised by a more assertive stance increased strategic engagements and a focus on enhancing national security and economic interests. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership India has shifted from a traditionally non-aligned posture to a multi-aligned strategy balancing relations with major global powers while pursuing an independent foreign policy. The book attempts to comprehensively analyse and explore the key shifts drivers and impacts of these changes in India's foreign and military policies. Military modernization represents a comprehensive process aimed at transforming a nation's defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical technological and security landscapes. This involves the systematic upgrade of military equipment the adoption of advanced technologies improvements in the operational readiness of armed forces and the restructuring of military institutions to align with modern warfare tactics. In India’s case military modernization is being shaped by a combination of internal needs—such as enhancing border security and countering terrorism—and external pressures including regional rivalries especially with China and Pakistan and the larger strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region. India’s military modernization involves three core dimensions: hardware upgrades technological integration and strategic reforms. This modernization effort also emphasizes the principle of self-reliance in defence production as evidenced by India's push for indigenous defence manufacturing under the ‘Make in India’ initiative alongside strategic defence imports. India's defence planning is shaped by its dual focus on countering immediate threats along its northern borders and ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the context of broader geopolitical competition particularly with China in the Indo-Pacific. However the low R&D base and import dependency are our major shortcomings. The government is undertaking a series of steps to boost the national R&D base by involving the private sector and start-ups. What is important is the policy shift and pasturing towards India's military and diplomatic outreach that despite the challenges India has achieved export of defence items worth Rs. 16000 crore in 2022-23 and this figure is likely to rise to Rs 25000 crore in 2024-25. The book attempts to outline the policy shift towards defence indigenization which requires the creation of a sustainable ecosystem that integrates and energizes policymakers Services R&D academia the defence industry both public and private and foreign OEMs and global technology leaders. The current geopolitical environment precludes dependency in the mil-tech (military technology) domain on any single external source; hence partnerships based on current and future strategic alignments help mitigate risks. This is a path to realizing the dream of ‘Make in India Make for the World’. Industry leaders need to focus on innovation R&D infrastructure and substantial financial and human capital to develop capabilities and unlock immense potential; the industry needs to focus on R&D while the government creates the linkages between military and industry to create an ecosystem that nurtures innovation. As the nature of warfare evolves collaborative research needs to focus on Critical and Emerging Technologies (CETs). I thank all the stakeholders especially the leaders from MoD the Military and MEA for their valuable suggestions during writing. In this endeavour I also thank past publishers/media houses for the editorials which I have written to substantiate the book. I also immensely KAS for the endeavour and support. About the Author: Manish Kumar JhaManish Kumar Jha: Manish Kumar Jha is a Defence Editor and a security expert covering more than 35 countries worldwide for two decades for national and international media. He served as a Dy. Editor in The Indian Express Group Financial Express Businessworld BW Defence DNA Newspaper (Zee News) and prestigious international media including Japan Press and Geopolitical Monitor. He is a distinguished author with Indian and international patents copyrights and published research papers and book chapters in both national and international venues. Currently Mr Jha leads and hosts the national program on key policies which include Foreign Affairs Defence and Economy on Sansad TV (Government of India). Mr Jha is also the Consulting and Contributing Editor. His writings on national security military technology strategic affairs and policies are widely discussed in India's policy debates and deliberations. Mr Jha also Founded Strategic Insights and launched IPs in Defence and Strategic Affairs for critical and advanced technology towards national security and military modernization. He initiated and launched a flagship program with the USI on “DEFENCE & AEROSPACE: CAPABILITY ROADMAP 2030” in 2024. He was awarded the title of Professor of Practice for his works and contribution to national security foreign affairs and military technologies; Mr Jha also teaches at the university. He studied at Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) and received his Press Fellowship from Oxford University/KPF. He graduated from the University of Delhi. Currently he is pursuing his PhD in R&D in Defence in India from AIDSS. Amit Das - Amit Das an alumnus of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and an academic and researcher at ICFAI University Dehradun India is a distinguished author with Indian and international patents copyrights and an impressive portfolio of published research papers and book chapters in both national and international venues. His research spans artificial intelligence (AI) data science and digital diplomacy where he brings a forward-thinking approach to these evolving fields. A thought leader on AI-enabled future organizations Das explores the transformative impact of AI on business and society comparing AI policies across different countries to better understand global approaches to technology governance His commitment to innovation and knowledge-sharing continues to inspire students professionals and academics alike.