The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) (formerly known as: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA)),

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, is India's foremost think tank for advanced research in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, especially defence, strategic and security issues, and providing training to civilian, military and paramilitary officers of the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. It is funded by the Indian Ministry of Defence but operates as a non-partisan and autonomous body. It aims to promote national and international security by carrying out research on defence and security-related issues and disseminating the knowledge among the policy-makers and wider public. The current director general is Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, who took over the reins of IDSA on 3 January 2019 on a three-year assignment. MP-IDSA is the only think-tank in India whose director general is appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by the prime minister of India. IDSA has long been regarded as one of India's most influential think-tanks. The University of Pennsylvania's Global Go To Think Tank Index ranked IDSA 41st in the world in 2017. It received the top position among Indian think tanks.

History

Stamp of India - 2015 - Colnect 637812 - Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses

IDSA was established on 11 November 1965 as a non-partisan and autonomous body. It is funded by the Indian Ministry of Defence and plays a key role in shaping India's foreign and security policies. In February 2020 IDSA was renamed as 'Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA)' after former Defence Minister

Manohar Parrikar Manohar Parrikar (born Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar; 13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 until his death. Previous ...

Governance

MP-IDSA is governed by an Executive Council, whose members are distinguished personalities from various walks of life and which is headed by a president. The council is supported by committees covering different aspects of the institute's work. Executive Council Committees cover subjects such as administration, academics, finance, membership, etc. Members of the council are elected for two-year terms at the Annual General Body meeting. The president of the Executive Council is by convention, an ex-officio position, held by the incumbent defence minister. The current president is

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...

Activities

Research

The institute's presently focused research areas are divided in following categories:

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Military Affairs ''The Journal of Military History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the military history of all times and places. It is the official journal of the Society for Military History. The journal was established in 1937 and the ed ...

, Non-Traditional Security,

Weapons of Mass Destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

, and

Terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and International Security. The institute has a strong research faculty of more than fifty distinguished scholars drawn from academia, defence, foreign affairs, media and other civil services. The institute's state-of-the-art library, situated at the heart of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n capital

caters to the needs of policymakers.

Training

The institute provides training and refresher courses to senior government officers drawn from various branches of Indian Civil Service, i.e., the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service, the Indian Police Service, the Armed Forces and the Para-Military Forces.

International interactions

MP-IDSA has international interactions through various means. The institute holds international seminars and conferences, publishes journals, hosts to visiting scholars, and ties up with institutes from all over the world.

Government policy

The MP-IDSA plays a role in shaping the Indian government's foreign and security policies. For example; the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

's Standing Committee on Defence frequently calls on the institute's experts. Officers of the armed forces come to spend up to two years at the institute to gain a policy perspective. The institute's annual report is tabled in the Indian Parliament.Prashant Jha
India's most influential think-tanks
Hindustan Times, 16 August 2015. The Defence Minister of India informed the Indian parliament in 2012 that the IDSA appoints both civilian and military personnel to publish books, journal articles and reviews.

Publications

The institute's flagship journal ''Strategic Analysis'' is published bimonthly in collaboration with

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

. It aims to promote an understanding of Indian strategic thinking on national and international themes. Other periodical publications include: * ''Journal of Defence Studies'' – a quarterly journal focusing on core issues of defence. * ''Africa Trends'' – a quarterly magazine on providing information on significant and strategic developments taking place in Africa. * ''CBW Magazine'' – a magazine focusing on arms control, disarmament, roles of state and non-state actors, regarding chemical and biological weapons. * Various policy briefs, issue briefs, occasional papers and newsletters. The members of the institute actively publish various books and monographs via regular publishing houses in India and overseas.

Ranking

The Global Go To Think Tank Index, prepared annually by the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Foreign Policy Research Institute, ranked IDSA 55th in the world in 2013,Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) has been ranked 55th amongst the top think tanks worldwide (non US), in the 2013 Global Go To Think Tank Index published by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania
Times of India, 22 January 2014. 105th in 2016 and 41st in 2017.IDSA retains top position among Indian think tanks in the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Survey
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, 5 February 2018. This was the top position received by any Indian think tank in 2017.

Past heads

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute For Defence Studies And Analysis Think tanks based in India Research institutes in Delhi Research institutes of international relations Organisations based in Delhi Think tanks established in 1965 Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in India Political and economic think tanks based in India