Contents

Foreword by Chief of Defence Staff       

Message by Chief of the Army Staff        

Message by Chief of the Naval Staff        

Message by Chief of the Air Staff             

The Year Book 2026: At a Glance            

Section I: India’s National Security Overview

1. India’s Strategic Challenges            

Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh, SYSM, PVSM, AVSM, NM, PhD (Retd)

2. India's Strategic Landscape 2026: An Overview 

Major General BK Sharma, AVSM, SM** (Retd)

3. Trump's Trade War: Implications for India           

Professor Amit Gupta

Section II: Internal Security Issues

4. The Emerging Security Landscape in Northeast India: Strategic Implications and Policy Responses 

Lieutenant General PC Nair, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, PhD (Retd)

5. India’s Disaster Management Framework: Risks, Capacities, and the Way Forward   

Shri Jayanto N Choudhury, IPS (Retd)

6. Guarding the Periphery: Strategic Measures to Secure India’s Porous Borders             

Lieutenant General Shokin Chauhan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, PhD (Retd)

7. New Dimensions of Coastal Security          

Vice Admiral AK Chawla, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, PhD (Retd)

8. Flowing Tensions: The Geopolitics of India’s Water Treaties and Strategic Pathways 

Major General AK Chaturvedi, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

Section III: China and Pakistan

9. Operation Sindoor and Beyond: Navigating China–Pakistan Deepening Nexus and India's Strategic Options              

Major General GG Dwivedi, SM, VSM**, PhD (Retd)

10. Recalibrating Ties: Pakistan–United States Relations in the Aftermath of Operation Sindoor         

Dr TCA Raghavan, IFS (Retd)

11. Contours of Competition: New Dynamics in India–China Relations     

Shri Jabin T Jacob

12. The Succession of the Dalai Lama            

Shri Claude Arpi

13. Emerging Pakistan–Bangladesh Nexus: India's Response        

Shri Bashir Ali Abbas

Section IV: India’s Strategic Neighbourhood

14. A Perspective on Strengthening Indo–Nepal Relations: New Areas of Cooperation   

Shri Jayant Prasad, IFS (Retd)

15. West Asia in Flux: India’s Strategic Calculus in a Volatile Region          

Shri Neelotpal Mishra, dis

Section V: Global Issues

16. East Asian Security Architecture: Balance Between Alliances and Multilateral Uncertainties          

Shri Skand Ranjan Tayal, IFS (Retd)

17. Manifestation of Advanced Artificial Intelligence on the Modern Battlespace: Way Forward for the Indian Armed Forces 

Lieutenant General RS Panwar, AVSM, SM, VSM, PhD (Retd)

18. Power, Partnerships, and Polarities: A Strategic Review of the Grouping of Brazil–Russia–India–China–South Africa and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 

Professor Nirmala Joshi

19. Global Nuclear Scenario: Risks, Prospects, and Security Implications               

Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM, (Retd)

Section VI: National Security Capacity Building

20. Shaping India's Future Security: A Dialogue with the Chief of Defence Staff on Jointness, Modernisation, and Civil–Military Fusion    

General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM

21. Shaping Tomorrow's Army: A Strategic Dialogue with the Chief of the Army Staff on Readiness, Reform, and Regional Realities          

General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM

22. India's Maritime Strategy in a Disrupted Global Order: A Discussion with the Chief of the Naval Staff                

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, PVSM, AVSM, NM

23. Minds over Maps: Crafting a Grey-Zone Strategy         

Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, PhD (Retd)

24. Post Operation Sindoor: A Roadmap for India's Aerospace Power     

Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, PhD (Retd)

25. Emerging Challenges in the Indian Ocean          

Vice Admiral Satish Soni, PVSM, AVSM, NM (Retd)

26. Strategic Communications in the Army: National Security and Strategic Communication in the Information Age         

Lieutenant General DP Pandey, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

27. Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence: Synergising Defence Research and Development Organisation, Industry, and Private Sector 

Dr G Satheesh Reddy, (Retd)

28. Strategic Black Swans: Unexpected Global Events and India’s Diplomatic Response 

Major General Sanjeev Chowdhry (Retd)

29. Post Operation Sindoor: Review and Refinement of India's Defence Spending           

Shri Amit Cowshish, IDAS (Retd)

30. Building an Integrated Air Defence Ecosystem: Doctrine, Technology, and Joint Force          

Lieutenant General AP Singh, PVSM, AVSM, PhD (Retd)