Minimum Credible Deterrence
Encyclopedia
Credible Minimum Deterrence is the principle on which India
's nuclear doctrine is based.
It underlines no first use
(NFU) with a second strike
capability, and falls under minimal deterrence
as opposed to mutually assured destruction. India's tentative nuclear doctrinewas announced on August 17, 1999 by the then secretary of the National Security Advisory Board, Brajesh Mishra.
Later this draft was adopted with some modifications when the Nuclear Command Authority
was announced on January 4, 2003. A significant modification was the dilution of the NFU principle to include nuclear retaliation to attacks by biological and chemical weapons.
Indian National Security Advisor
Shri Shiv Shankar Menon
further signaled a significant shift from "no first use" to "no first use against non-nuclear weapon states" in a speech on the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebrations of National Defence College
in New Delhi on October 21, 2010, a doctrine Menon said reflected India's "strategic culture, with its emphasis on minimal deterrence."
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's nuclear doctrine is based.
It underlines no first use
No first use
No first use refers to a pledge or a policy by a nuclear power not to use nuclear weapons as a means of warfare unless first attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons...
(NFU) with a second strike
Second strike
In nuclear strategy, a second strike capability is a country's assured ability to respond to a nuclear attack with powerful nuclear retaliation against the attacker...
capability, and falls under minimal deterrence
Minimal deterrence
In nuclear strategy, minimal deterrence is an application of deterrence theory in which a state possesses no more nuclear weapons than is necessary to deter an adversary from attacking...
as opposed to mutually assured destruction. India's tentative nuclear doctrinewas announced on August 17, 1999 by the then secretary of the National Security Advisory Board, Brajesh Mishra.
Later this draft was adopted with some modifications when the Nuclear Command Authority
Nuclear Command Authority (India)
The Nuclear Command Authority of India is the nodal agency for all command, control and operational decisions regarding India's nuclear weapon stockpile.- Introduction :...
was announced on January 4, 2003. A significant modification was the dilution of the NFU principle to include nuclear retaliation to attacks by biological and chemical weapons.
Indian National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (India)
The National Security Advisor of India is a member of the National Security Council , and the primary advisor to the Prime Minister, the Indian Cabinet and the NSC on internal and international security issues.-Overview:...
Shri Shiv Shankar Menon
Shiv Shankar Menon
Shivshankar Menon or Sivasankara Menon is the present National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and in China and Israel as ambassador and diplomat...
further signaled a significant shift from "no first use" to "no first use against non-nuclear weapon states" in a speech on the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebrations of National Defence College
National Defence College, India
The National Defence College of India, located in New Delhi, is an institution of higher learning of the defence forces of India. The institution was inaugurated on 27 April 1960 and is the only military institution in the country that imparts knowledge on all aspects of national security and...
in New Delhi on October 21, 2010, a doctrine Menon said reflected India's "strategic culture, with its emphasis on minimal deterrence."