The National Security Council (NSC) of India is an apex executive government institution tasked with advising the Prime Minister on matters of national security and foreign policy. It was established on November 19, 1998, by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The creation was a response to the need for an integrated security architecture, particularly following India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in May 1998, which necessitated a command and control structure for the nuclear deterrent. Prior to its formation, national security functions were overseen by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
The NSC is chaired by the Prime Minister and its core members include the Ministers of Defence, External Affairs, Home Affairs, and Finance. It operates through a three-tier mechanism: the Strategic Policy Group (SPG), the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). The National Security Advisor (NSA) is the principal advisor to the Prime Minister and acts as the secretary of the NSC. The NSC connects directly to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is the highest decision-making body on security matters. In 2019, the Allocation of Business Rules were amended to bring the NSA and NSCS under its purview, granting the NSA the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Recently, the leadership structure was expanded with the appointment of an Additional National Security Advisor (ANSA), a post that had previously been vacant, along with three Deputy NSAs, to streamline the NSCS's functioning.