Naresh Chandra Committee: National Security Review Task Force

Naresh Chandra Committee is a Task Force on National Security set up under former Cabinet Secretary, Naresh Chandra.
This committee has been set up 10 years after the Kargil Review Committee (under Late K Subramaniyam).
Soon after the Kargil conflict of 1999, the then government had set up the Kargil Review Committee whose recommendations were reviewed by the Group of Ministers in 2000-01.
With the help of four task forces, this GoM made 350 recommendations, several of which were accepted by the government and implemented, but over the years the speed of implementation of reforms has died down. The Defence Intelligence Agency and National Technical Research Organisation, Defence Procurement Board and Defence Acquisition Council were created after a comprehensive review of national security then.
The Kargil Review Committee submitted its report on the basis of which four sub committees or task forces were appointed by the government: -
(1) Sub Committee on Defence Management- Arun Singh
(2) Sub Committee on Border Management- Madhav Godbole
(3) Intelligence- G.C. Saxena
(4) Internal Security- N.N. Vohra

The members of the National Security Review Task Force are : -
(1) Naresh Chandra (former Cabinet Secretary)- Chairman
(2) Admiral Arun Prakash
(3) Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy
(4) P.C. Haldar (former IB Director)
(5) K.C. Verma (former Secretary R&AW)
(6) Radha Vinod Raju (former DG NIA)
(7) V.K. Duggal (former Union Home Secretary)
(8) Brajeshwar Singh (former civil servant)
(9) Suman K Berry (economist)
(10) D Sivanandan (Indian Police Service officer)
(11) Lt Gen V.R. Raghavan (former DGMO)
(12) Manoj Joshi (journalist)
(13) G. Parthasarthy (former Indian Foreign Service officer)
(14) Anil Kakodkar (former Chairman AEC)
(15) D Raman , advisor to Naresh Chandra


Main Recommendations of the Committee
1. It recommends the creation of the post of the Chairman of the Join Chief of Staff Committee
2. A Special Operations/Special Forces Command for Special Forces of the armed forces
3. Deputation of armed forces officers up to Director level to the Ministry of Defence for greater Civil-Military synergy
4. The committee wants amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act to protect officers involved in defence purchases, in case they make 'an error of judgement'
5. It has recommended the creation of a National Intelligence Grid
6. Creation of a National Defence University and a separate think-tank on Internal Security and formulation of a National Security Doctrine
7. Greater priority to be given to strengthen our capabilities against China without impairing our capabilities against Pakistan and terrorism
8. Measures to augment the flow of foreign language experts into the intelligence and security agencies, which face a severe shortage of trained linguists
9. It has also suggested creation of a National Counter Terrorism Centre. However it should not have the powers to arrest and search under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. It should be under the IB
10. A full time advisor called the National Coordinator of Intelligence in the National Intelligence Board, chaired by the NSA to be appointed to oversee various intelligence agencies and coordinate their work and ensure that there is no overlapping of intelligence and no turf battles between different agencies