Minimum Credible Deterrence

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 doctrine^[1][2]was 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."^[3][4]

References

1. ^ Brajesh Mishra (1999) Draft Report of National Security Advisory Board on Indian Nuclear Doctrine
2. ^ Hosted at www.pugwash.org - Draft Report of National Security Advisory Board on Indian Nuclear Doctrine
3. ^ Speech by NSA Shri Shivshankar Menon at NDC on “The Role of Force in Strategic Affairs”: Web-site of Ministry of External Affairs (Govt. of India)
4. ^ NSA Shivshankar Menon at NDC (Speech) : india Blooms