Defence Strategy & Security: Chanakya Defence Dialogue-2025 — Debating Future of India’s Security Architecture

What is It?

The third edition of the Chanakya Defence Dialogue-2025 was inaugurated recently, creating a high-level platform for deliberation on India’s long-term defence and strategic priorities.
According to CrackitToday, the forum brings together:

• Senior military leadership
• Strategic and policy experts
• Diplomats
• Defence scholars and analysts

The event aims to foster meaningful discussions on India’s evolving security challenges and future defence imperatives. It is increasingly seen as an important track for shaping India’s defence thought and promoting synergy between strategy, policy, and technology.

Key Agenda & Strategic Context

The Dialogue provides a structured space to evaluate India’s position amid a fast-changing global and regional environment. The key focus areas include:

1. Emerging Security Challenges

Debates centred on multi-domain threats — from traditional border tensions to cyber warfare, maritime security, hybrid attacks, and space-based vulnerabilities. The Dialogue highlights India’s need to stay prepared for both conventional and non-conventional conflicts.

2. Technological Modernisation of the Armed Forces

Experts examined the defence services’ transition towards advanced technologies:

• Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems
• Next-gen communication and surveillance
• Space assets
• Cyber resilience
• Indigenous weapons systems under Aatmanirbhar Bharat

The discussion emphasised the urgency of reducing external dependence and strengthening India’s domestic defence ecosystem.

3. Defence Preparedness & Strategic Readiness

Panel discussions explored India’s operational readiness, jointness among the three services, modern command structures, and defence procurement reforms. Enhancing logistics, ISR capabilities, and rapid deployment mechanisms remains a central priority.

4. Geopolitical Uncertainty & India’s Response

The Dialogue also contextualises India’s security posture in a world shaped by great-power rivalry, shifting alliances, and regional instability in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

Why It Matters

Chanakya Defence Dialogue-2025 reflects India’s proactive approach to shaping a future-ready security architecture, boosting strategic clarity and defence preparedness in an increasingly unpredictable world.