Indian National Defence University

The INDU aims to undertake the following:[7]

• Promote research-oriented national defence policy.
• High level leadership development of officers for military duties and policy formulation responsibilities
• Develop and propagate higher education in defence studies like defence management and defence science and technology.
• University think tanks for providing policy formulations inputs.

The much needed pending three reforms for the national security and military readiness are the integrated tri services operational commands under the Chief of Defence Staff, the make in India indigenous defence manufacturing, and the reform in military education in India. While some progress has been made towards the first two, but the reforms in military education in India are still lacking. The current military training in India trains officers with "narrow professional skills to command companies, battalions and brigades, or perform staff duties at various levels, there is practically no attempt to give the officers a sense of the larger contexts – strategic, political and international – in which the armed forces function. It is only at the highest training establishment, the National Defence College, that senior one-star officers get exposed to some of these issues. This is too little and too late. This outmoded approach to training impacts the quality of human capital at all levels in the services. Yet, no government has paid serious attention to this. The fate of the long-heralded Indian National Defence University is symptomatic of the political leadership’s neglect of this crucial area."[11]

This autonomous University will be instituted by the Act of the Parliament of India, and President of India will be a Visitor, and the Defence Minister will be the Chancellor. INDU will be governed as per its own norms and will be responsible to promote coordination and interaction between Institutions of Armed Forces or establishments of the country. Defence training institutions will be affiliated to award degrees.[2]

The institute will be headed by a President, who will be a three-star serving General or equivalent officer with C-in-C status on appointment, and a Vice-President, who will be a civilian. The university formed on the lines of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will have the teaching faculty composed of military personnel and civilians in the ratio of 1:1.[2][3]

The university will have the following constituent units:[1][7]

• The Centre for Distance and Open learning
• The School of Defence Management
• The School of Defence Technology
• The School of National Security Studies

Following existing institutes will be affiliated to the university:[1]

• College of Defence Management (CDM, Secunderabad, Telangana),
• Defence Services Staff College (DSSC, Wellington, Tamil Nadu),
• National Defence Academy (NDA, Khadakwasla, Maharashtra) ,[2][3]
• National Defence College (NDC, New Delhi).

At least 66% students will be from the Indian Armed Forces and the remaining 33% will be from the Paramilitary forces of India, Police in India and civilians.[1] The university will offer doctoral and post-doctoral research, post-graduate studies as well as higher studies through distance learning to military and civilians.[1][3]

War and peace courses will include strategic thinking, Chinese studies, Eurasian studies, Southeast Asian studies, neighborhood studies, international security and national security strategy, maritime security studies, wargaming and military simulation, joint logistics, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism and material acquisition.[12]

The 205 acres and 15 marla land for the campus was acquired by the Haryana government and handed over to the Ministry of Defence in September 2012 and found stone was laid in April 2013.[1][2][4][10] Of the 205 acre 15 marla land, 2 acre 3 kanal 9.5 marla was transferred to the revenue department of Haryana Government for building a road to provide access to the farmers from NH8 to their farm land,[13] thus leaving 202 acres, 5 kanal and 5.5 marla for the university campus. However, Bhumi Puja was held in 2018 during which Air Marshal A.S. Bhonsle of Integrated Defence Staff laid the first brick for the commencement of construction of boundary wall, perimeter road, watch towers and guard rooms,[13] construction of which has been completed as of December 2019 but the construction of buildings has not yet started, "only five to seven army officials visit the site every Sunday with two security guards looking after the area".[9] Then Union Minister of state for defence, Subhash Bhamre, had told the Lok Sabha in 2016 that "the construction work on the project will start once the Indian National Defence University (INDU) Act, 2015, is passed by Parliament",[9] which is still pending approval from the union cabinet and the national parliament.