The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is an executive government institution that serves as the core strategic planning and administrative body for the National Security Council (NSC). It is the apex advisory body on all internal and external security matters for the Prime Minister of India.
The NSCS was formally established on 19 November 1998 by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor (NSA). Its creation was a response to the need for an integrated national security architecture, particularly following the post-Kargil security reviews, to address India's evolving security challenges.
The NSCS is headed by the National Security Advisor (NSA), who is the Secretary of the NSC and holds the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Its mechanism involves drafting and reviewing the National Security Strategy, advising the NSC on threats like cyber resilience and economic security, and coordinating intelligence and diplomatic inputs. The NSCS operates with four key verticals: Strategic Planning, Internal Affairs, Intelligence and Technology, and a Military vertical. A significant change occurred in 2019 when an amendment to the Allocation of Business Rules brought the NSCS within its purview, granting it the power to generate Cabinet notes and participate in inter-ministerial consultations.
The NSCS is the executive arm of the National Security Council (NSC), which is the highest-level body headed by the Prime Minister. It is part of a three-tiered structure that includes the Strategic Policy Group (SPG) for inter-ministerial coordination and the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) for long-term analysis. It also works closely with the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which assesses intelligence from agencies like the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
A recent change was the activation of the post of Additional National Security Advisor (ANSA) in July 2024 to streamline functioning and handle operational coordination, allowing the NSA to focus more on strategic issues. This move restructured the reporting relationships within the NSCS, which now includes the ANSA and three Deputy NSAs.