India’s Nuclear Security

Nuclear security focuses on the prevention and detection of criminal and intentional unauthorized acts like unauthorized removal, sabotage, unauthorised access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving or directed at nuclear material, other radioactive material, associated facilities, or associated activities.

  • Nuclear security and nuclear safety have the common aim of protecting persons, property, society and the environment. Security measures and safety measures have to be designed and implemented in an integrated manner to develop synergy between these two areas and also in a way that security measures do not compromise safety and safety measures do not compromise security.
  • Nuclear security, together with nuclear safety and applicable safeguards is essential for enjoying the many benefits of nuclear material and other radioactive material in industrial, agricultural, and medical applications, nuclear energy, and many other areas.
  • The threat of nuclear terrorism has been recognized as a matter of grave concern by all States. States also recognize that nuclear security in one State might depend on the effectiveness of the nuclear security regimes in other States.
  • The responsibility for nuclear security within a State rests entirely with the State, which has to ensure the security of nuclear material, other radioactive material, associated facilities, and associated activities under its jurisdiction.
  • There is an increasing need for appropriate international cooperation to enhance nuclear security worldwide.

Cyber N-Attack

Three main forms of cyber-attack are particularly significant for nuclear security:

  1. A cyber-attack might be used to sabotage a nuclear facility
  2. A cyber-attack might contribute to a physical theft or sabotage attempt—for example, by confusing or disabling alarm and assessment systems, unlocking doors, or altering material accounting systems
  3. Adversaries might use cyber weaknesses to get access to sensitive nuclear information.

Need of the National Security Strategy

According to Center for Policy Research, to secure India from internal as well as external threats, there must be a full-fledged National Security Strategy (NSS). Some of the reasons may be enlisted as -

  • The Indian state does not possess an overarching national security strategy (NSS) that comprehensively assesses the challenges to the country’s security and spells out policies to deal effectively with them.
  • In the absence of an overall strategy, the state relies on ad hoc responses of questionable utility. Moreover, it possesses no mechanism that permits it to learn from its experiences.
  • The vulnerability of our borders is linked to a large-scale smuggling and contraband trade that permits channels through which terrorists and criminals find easy access. Such threats cannot be dealt solely through enhanced military capabilities without addressing the drivers of illegal trade. The NSS will help to acknowledge such cross-domain linkages and policy interventions.
  • A combination of domestic and external interventions may be necessary. It is only within a comprehensive NSS that such complex inter-relationships between domestic and external dimensions can be analysed and coordinated policy responses formulated.
  • Technological change and geopolitical shifts are also impacting India’s nuclear security. The country’s nuclear deterrent strategy must deal with the challenge of two nuclear-armed neighbours: China and Pakistan.
  • Furthermore, the nuclear domain is becoming closely interlinked with cyber and space-related capabilities. The development of India’s nuclear deterrent strategy must take into account the impacts of such technological change.

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