ABSTRACT
The evolution of the national security system in India was incident-driven and passed through various phases. Its genesis at the apex level can be traced from the formation of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) soon after independence. The Pakistani intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 underlined the need for an organisation which would provide authentic integrated intelligence assessments to the top military planners to help them take appropriate decisions during military operations. For this, the JIC was created as a sub-committee of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. It was chaired by a part-time joint secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs and a service officer as secretary. It was given the responsibility to prepare assessments on defence-related matters and present those assessments to the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Defence Committee of the Cabinet.
