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Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, the terrorist group behind the Mumbai 2008 attacks and operating from Pakistan, is likely to continue with its terror campaign against the security forces in India, according to a study on LeT done by Dr Subrahmanian and his team at the University of Maryland.

New security challenges confront India today. Newer areas of conflict and contestation are emerging on the horizon. These challenges call for dynamic and autonomous response mechanisms.

The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan-based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important. Conceivably, the first test for the Modi government will be in Afghanistan.

Despite SAARC's failures of the past, the repeated declarations by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the need to reinvigorate ties with neighbouring states have created a renewed interest in the possibilities of multilateral cooperation under SAARC.

The rise of Islamic State does pose a strategic threat to South Asia, although the influence might not be direct, according to Prof. Stephen Tankel of American University. He says since the decline of the Al Qaeda senior leadership in Pakistan, the IS has emerged a source of new leadership.

Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August last year and since then, serious security concerns have arisen for India. There is the spectre of terrorist groups in neighbouring countries gaining strength; there is also the threat of Indians travelling to Afghanistan to either live as civilians desiring a home under “Islamic rule”, or else fight alongside terrorist groups. Indeed, other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh are reporting that

The ICT supply chain in India is only as strong as its weakest link: the end user. If the user is from rural India, with a limited understanding of the devices and transactions she accesses, her device is a point of vulnerability.

It’s time for greater efforts to confront this challenge.

Cyber insecurity is now a global risk no different from the warming climate or forced displacement. Is such insecurity a business risk or a "public bad"?

There is more at stake than geopolitical gamesmanship in the South China Sea

Reported jihadi threats forcing the down-grading of a New Year Eve entertainment programme and those regarding seven more Maldivians joining the civil war in Syria have revived the on-again-off-again national discourse on religious radicalism in Maldives.

With consensus on legal measures remains elusive, a behavior-based approach is a good first step. A consequence-based approach to dealing with interference in space is a step further. 

The rapid pace of digitalisation poses new national security risks for countries like India, a country with over 700 million internet users. The multilayered digital ecosystem comprising of infrastructure, devices and applications is complex, and security threats evolve at a breakneck pace. This makes it difficult for states to develop an effective response to individual or organisational security threats. India therefore has often had to resort

India and the US face a growing anti-access challenge. By working together to mitigate A2/AD threats, both the countries may come to a better mutual understanding on major security issues in Asia.

The phenomenon of individuals leaving their home country and making their way to conflict zones to join terror and insurgent groups is not new. In the past few years, however, the numbers of these “foreign fighters” have increased: thousands of people from more than 80 countries have made their way to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and other battle zones. As countries in the West struggled to deal with these intra-geographic threats from radicalis

Security concerns in Asia are largely related to non-traditional security threats such as terrorism, piracy, disaster management and transnational crime. These threats are becoming more and more traditional as countries have to deal with them on a daily basis.

The European Union’s (EU) and India’s paths towards becoming “cyber powers” could hardly be more different. The EU has a long tradition of protecting personal privacy rights and patents, while urging to enhance multilateral norms on cyberspace. India’s thinking on cybersecurity has continuously been boosted by the cyber threats emerging from China and Pakistan. It has further been shaped by India’s domestic Information Technology indu

When the rest of the world was kept in a state of shivering suspense by North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard quietly undertook an important visit to China -- her second official visit to Beijing in about two years.

Setting up of research taskforces on various climate change and environment risks in the BIMSTEC sub-region can develop a common understanding of the threats, create standards for emergency management and come up with cost-effective solutions.

There are two streams of debate on India’s current nuclear doctrine: one on its current interpretation and deducing its form and what such form means for India’s overall nuclear strategy; and another, more internal to India, on what should be the Indian nuclear doctrine with respect to the evolving nature of threats. The two debates are not mutually exclusive. However, neither of them have contended with all conventional contingencies, in par

The BIMSTEC region is among the most vulnerable in the world from increased threat due to climate change. In the foreseeable future, climate change is projected to affect each BIMSTEC member country with greater severity and frequency, thereby impeding their response capacity significantly. This brief explores the vulnerability of the region from climate change and the BIMSTEC-level initiatives that have taken place to address the issue. Although

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is standing on the threshold of a new inning, as it marks its 25th year in 2022. The past months have been momentous for BIMSTEC, as it adopted a charter at the fifth Summit Meeting in March to outline a clearer purpose for the organisation. During the summit, BIMSTEC rationalised its 14 diverse sectors of cooperation into seven core areas of inte

Member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) continue to grapple with a host of security issues, including the burgeoning ISIS threat and the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. In the recent months, the region has witnessed the immense social, political, economic and geo-strategic implications of terrorism and displacement. BIMSTEC’s counterterrorism initiatives must therefore be scr

26 November 2018 marked a decade since 10 Pakistan-based terrorists killed over 160 people in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. The city remained under siege for days, and security forces disjointedly struggled to improvise a response. The Mumbai tragedy was not the last terrorist attack India faced; there would be many others since. After every attack, the government makes lukewarm attempts to fit episodic responses into coherent frameworks

Several challenges and threats may hinder achieving two percent growth for the world economy. For instance, the plans of IMF and Central Bank to raise the interest rate are likely to result in wiping out efforts to achieve the target. Also the investment is witnessing lower volatility.

The most critical area for India's response to climate change must be adaptation. It needs to invest in actions against the imminent threats posed by climate change irrespective of how the global discourse progresses. Investments must be made through innovative channels, using a mixture of capacity-building programmes, awareness campaigns, traditional solutions, and new technologies.

The Straits of Malacca is rife with several security threats, such as piracy, maritime terrorism, drug smuggling, gun running and illegal immigration. These challenges have the potential to disrupt, if not destroy, the maritime shipping in the Straits. Although regional countries have made considerable efforts to address these problems with some encouraging results, the challenges and threats are too formidable and complex for the combat capabili

There is a consensus among intelligence officials, current and erstwhile, that the future challenges cannot be foreseen as they will emanate from the cyber world, space, the ocean, failed states and fundamentalism. The current intelligence system is woefully inadequate to meet these threats.

Experts warn that while governments are getting better at managing cyber and internet threats, adversaries may go after private sector systems, in the absence of active public-private cooperation.

India needs to effectively counter the menace of China-Pakistan cyber collaboration as it has not just national security implications, but indeed implications for India’s democracy as a whole

This paper investigates, in the context of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, the burgeoning threats posed by cyber mercenaries acting as proxies for revisionist states bent on destabilising the institutions and societies of adversary nations. The paper offers essential definitions of what comprises cybersecurity threats, including cyber mercenaries, and delineates current trends. Drawing on open-source intelligence and insights from cy

Digital adoption, hastened globally by the COVID-19 epidemic, brought along with it both benefits and threats, including concerns of safety and security of the cyberspace. Current geopolitical dynamics, ongoing strategic and economic disputes, as well as attempts by authoritarian regimes to preserve power have allowed companies with malicious intent—known as ‘cyber mercenaries’—to develop and deploy offensive cyber capabilities. The tools

This paper dissects the causes behind Pakistan’s ongoing economic crisis. The causes include dwindling forex reserves, the phenomenon of ‘galloping inflation’, a falling Pakistani Rupee, uncompetitive and undiversified export basket, burgeoning external debt, lack of fiscal prudence, debt distress, and a worsening business environment—all cascading to a balance of payment crisis. While austerity measures, appeals for loan rollover to debt

The rapidly changing battlefield—framed by emerging transnational threats and the rising influence of public opinion—has transformed military diplomacy; today the focus is shifting from traditional combat to joint multinational operations and non-combat activities. Since the early 21st century, China has modernised its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and expanded military diplomacy to protect the country’s interests. Using civil-military f

The Biden administration is seeking to establish a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy as part of its national security. This issue brief analyses the US’s cyber threat landscape and examines the Biden administration’s cybersecurity strategy. It explores the strategy’s ideological, geopolitical, technological, and diplomatic significance in a rapidly shifting domain.

The emergence of Bangladesh as the new hub of international Islamist terrorism, insurgency in Nepal and Maoist militancy across several states, add new challenges to national security threats that India traditionally tackles. Despite these, India's defence expenditure continues to decrease in real terms and as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year.

During the recent "5th India-Bangladesh Dialogue" organised in Delhi, there was consensus among all participants on the need for strengthening further cooperation on border management and counter terrorism in order of tackle threats which are common to both the countries.

The rising animosity has a great potential to affect the ability of the two nations to counter regional threats.

The use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), both for military and civilian purposes, has increased in India in the past decade. At the same time, counter-drone systems are also being developed to address the threats posed by UAVs. How effective are these counter-drone mechanisms? This brief explores this question, and offers suggestions for India to reduce the growing threat from drones. Any evaluation of the efficacy of anti-drone syst

As technologies evolve, so do threats.

Cyber security should take centrestage in nuclear-policymaking. This brief evaluates the current state of cyber security in India’s civilian and military nuclear systems, as gleaned from both incidents of breach on-ground and analyses in the public discourse. It outlines the level of threats faced in this domain, and makes a case for the development of policy measures for an integrated cyber-nuclear security strategy.

Indo-US relations began to warm up after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. All of a sudden, the New World Order had arrived, yet no one really knew how to adjust to this new reality. Old enemies and old friends had gone, new enemies, threats and friends had to be found ¿ for a State, to survive, needs all three.

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid digitalisation worldwide, with work-from-home interactions, online payments, and online consultations for various services becoming acceptable practices. While this shift in the manner and nature of work brought enormous benefits, crucially in terms of access, it has also increased the kind of cyber security threats that countries face, with vulnerabilities felt particularly in the health and financial sectors.

The new militant movement in Kashmir, which began with Burhan Wani in the southern areas, has escalated the conflict in the Valley. While militancy is not new in Kashmir, the Pulwama attack put the conflict back on the radar of the international community. This paper examines the changing nature of militancy in Kashmir, specifically with regard to training, recruitment patterns and the use of social media, public support for militants, and an app

India and China cannot afford to be used against each other by interested third parties. They must rather focus on common threats to regional progress. In a new world, India and China could be powerful allies, says a senior Chinese strategic scholar.