Evolving A Comprehensive National Security Index

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: A country’s national security is safeguarded not just by its armed forces but by its comprehensive national power. The latter is a product of several factors, most notably socio-economic conditions, S&T capabilities, economic strength, defence capability and population. Indices exist or can be developed in each of these sectors, which, when averaged out and suitably weighted, provide a rating on a country’s comprehensive national power or its national security index. On this basis, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has attempted to evolve a “National Security Index (NSI)” which constitutes an average of five indices, namely, Human Development Index (HDI), Research and Development Index (RDI), GDP Performance Index (GDPPI), Defence Expenditure Index (DEI) and Population Index (PI). Listed in the Table are 30 countries ranked in descending order as per their NSI

The details of each of the constituent sub-indices of the NSI as factored in by the NSCS are briefly outlined below:

Human Development Index (HDI): The HDI which factors in socio-economic conditions of a country has been taken from the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2002. It is inter alia based on a number of indices such as life expectancy index, education index, per capita income index, etc.

Research and Development Index (RDI): RDI has been designed to reflect a country’s technological prowess and is the weighted average of three separate indices, namely Patents Index, Index of R&D Expenditure as a percentage of GNP and Index of R&D Scientists and Engineers per million. A much greater weight has been given to R&D expenditure (60 per cent) than to the Patents Index (20 per cent) and to the Index of Scientists and Engineers (20 per cent) as it is felt that it is the expenditure which, in the medium- and long-term, would provide the cutting edge to a country’s achievements in this area.

GDP Performance Index (GDPPI): The GDPPI is the weighted average of two separate indices — the “GDP Index” and the “GDP Growth Index”. These constituent indices are important for evaluating a country’s overall economic strength and the rate at which this capability is evolving. The weight of these sub-indices is 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The data in this regard has been taken from the Military Balance and pertains to 2000.