NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (NSC)

About: 

• Type: The National Security Council (NSC) of India is an executive government agency.  
  
  
• Objective: To oversee political, economic, energy and security issues of strategic concern. 
  
  
• History: It was established by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998. 
  
  
• Structure: The NSC is a three-tiered organization comprising the – 
  • Strategic Policy Group (SPG): It is the first level of the NSC structure. It is headed by the Cabinet Secretary. 
    
    
  • National Security Advisory Board (NSAB): Its members include “persons of eminence” outside the Government with expertise in external security, strategic analysis, foreign affairs, defence, internal security, science and technology and economics. 
    
    
  • Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC): It is responsible for directing the national intelligence organizations and analyzing intelligence data. The JIC operates with its own Secretariat that works under the Cabinet Secretariat. 
    
    
  
  
  
• National Security Advisor (NSA): NSA presides over the NSC, and is also the primary advisor to the prime minister. Brajesh Mishra was the first National Security Advisor. List of NSAs – 
  • Brajesh Mishra (1998 – 2004) 
    
    
  • J N Dixit (2004 – 2005) 
    
    
  • K. Narayanan (2005 – 2010) 
    
    
  • Shivshankar Menon (2010 – 2014) 
    
    
  • Ajit Doval (2014 – Incumbent)