Indian Nuclear Command Structure

Formalising the country's Nuclear Command and Central structure, India's Cabinet decided to place ultimate control of the country's Nuclear Forces in the hands of a Political Council chaired by Prime Minister. It took more than four and a half years after declaring itself a nuclear weapon power, to make public a set of Political Principles and administrative arrangements to manage its arsenal of atomic weapons. India has been under considerable pressure from the West to spell out its official policy on the use of nuclear weapons since Jan 2002 when India and Pak seemed to be on the brink of war. Pakistan had set up its " Nuclear Command Authority " in Feb 2000. It was Musharraf's, the man in control of the nuclear button of Pak, recent speech to the Pakistani Air Force officers that focused international attention on South Asia. Musharraf asserted that it was Pak's threat to use "unconventional "tactics that prevented India from launching the full scale war against his country last year. The Indian side has chosen to interpret the General's words as an undisguised threat of first use of nuclear weapons. So the announcement of Nuclear Command came after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

A Nuclear Command Structure has been in place for quite sometime. Although the broad outline of India's nuclear doctrine was known for a while, the nature of its command and control over the atomic arsenal had remained unclear.

N-Command Structure

The government announced the formation of Nuclear Command Authority (NCA)

Which will be solely responsible for ordering a nuclear strike. NCA is a two-tier body consisting of a Political Council and an Executive Council . The Political Council to be chaired by the Prime Minister will be the sole body which will authorize the use of nuclear weapons. It represents the Civilian Leadership . An alternative chain of Command has also been approved to take charge in case the command chain is disturbed in any way.

The Executive Council will be chaired by the Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister , who will " provide inputs for the decision-making by the NCA " and “ execute the directives given to it by the Political Council” . The Executive Council will consist of top Civil Servants and Military Officials. It is expected to meet at regular intervals and keep the political leadership acquainted with the latest developments.

The Cabinet Committee also approved the appointment of " Commander-in-Chief , Strategic Forces Command " who would be responsible for the administration of the Nuclear Force .The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) will comprise of representatives from all the three military services.

POLITICAL COUNCIL 
(Head- Prime Minister) 
î 
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 
( Head - National Security Advisor) 
î 
CHIEF OF STAFF COMMITTEE 
( Headed By Air Force) 
î 
STRATEGIC FORCES COMMAND 
( Head Commander-in-Chief)

 

Functioning

Once the " Chief of Staff Committee " receives input from the SFC , it will provide military advise of the Political Council of the NCA through the Executive Council. The final decision has to be made by the leader (Prime Minister) in his individual capacity based on military advise specially when one is going to act only in retaliation. The Nuclear Draft Doctrine was released by National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), set up after the May 1998 tests. The recent anno8uncement has confirmed the essence of that draft as official policy. The only new element in the doctrine is the No First Use Policy. India has also pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon powers. However, in the event of a major attack against India "by biological and chemical weapons ", India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons. This stance mimics that taken by the US during the 1991 Gulf War. While India has consciously chosen not to use nuclear weapons first, it has warned (obviously aiming at Pakistan) that the nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage.

Alternative N-Command 

India has more than one alternative nuclear command structure in place. If there is an attack by hitting the nation's leadership " the alternative Nuclear Command Authority will be in a position to take charge "and ensure maximum retaliation. Officials insist that there are   fool-proof mechanisms in place to prevent any accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons. An Alternative command puts the final touch to India's nuclear deterrent. If an enemy knows that such a command exists, but does not know where they are this will deter a surprise attack. India may have two or three alternative command structures. Both the location and nature of the command will remain a secret. 

India's doctrine is largely aimed at Pak, because of its refusal to give up the option of a Nuclear First Strike. India has been clear since Pokhran - II, that its nuclear weapons are deterrent, not offensive weapons. Adopting No First Use Policy sent a message that India is not trigger-happy. However, Pak needed to understand that if it attacked, retaliation would be massive and immediate. It is a reflection of India's sluggish decision-making process that it has taken the government more than four and a half years to formalize a Nuclear Command and control structure. But it is better late than never.