Unified Commanders Conference

• 21 Apr 2020

Why in News

The Unified Commanders Conference (UCC) which was scheduled to be held on 22^nd-23^rd April, 2020 has been postponed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Key Points

• It is the annual meeting of three armed force services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Ministry of Defence to plan India’s long term security.
• It provides a platform for discussions at the apex Level on all the Joint Issues and enables stock taking of the previous year and planning the way ahead for the next year.
• It is chaired by the Defence Minister, Minister of State (Defence) and also attended by the ministry top officials, National Security Advisor (NSA), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), service chiefs and senior officers of the three services.

National Security Advisor

• The National Security Advisor acts as the secretary of the National Security Council (NSC) of India and is also the primary advisor to the Prime Minister.
• The current National Security Advisor is Ajit Doval.

National Security Council

• It is a three-tiered organization that oversees political, economic, energy and security issues of strategic concern.
• India formed it in 1999, where all aspects of national security are deliberated upon by it.
• NSC acts as the apex body, headed by the Prime Minister.
  
  • It operates within the executive office of the Prime Minister of India, liaising between the government’s executive branch and the intelligence services, advising leadership on intelligence and security issues.
• The Ministers of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs and Finance are its members.
• NSC comprises of the three tier structure- Strategic Policy Group (SPG), the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and the National Security Council Secretariat.
  
  • The SPG chaired by the Cabinet Secretary is the principal forum for inter-ministerial coordination and integration of the relevant inputs.
  • The NSAB undertakes long-term analysis and provides perspectives on issues of national security.