S. Samuel C. Rajiv

Dr S Samuel C Rajiv is Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. Prior to joining MP-IDSA in November 2006, Dr Rajiv worked at the publication India’s National Security Annual Review (from 2002-2005) and was a Visiting Scholar at the BESA Centre for Strategic Studies, Bar Ilan University, Israel (October 2005-September 2006). Dr Rajiv earned his PhD from the School of International Studies, JNU. He has published on issues related to India’s foreign and security policies in Strategic Analysis, Foreign Policy, Business Standard, The Jerusalem Post, among other publications. He is the author of The India-Israel Strategic Partnership: Contours, Opportunities and Challenges (Pentagon Press, 2023) and Co-Editor of India-Israel: The Making of a Strategic Partnership (Routledge, 2020). Dr Rajiv is a recipient of the President MPIDSA’s Award for Excellence for Young Scholars in 2013, 2014 and 2017, for the best peer-reviewed articles published in Strategic Analysis. He has been a member of the MPIDSA Website editorial team since August 2016 and Editor, MPIDSA Website, since January 2023. His current fellowship project is on ‘India’s Defence Exports: Issues and Challenges’.

The UK government’s decision to restrict certain arms exports to the UK highlights the supply chain dynamics that permeate the international arms market as well as the external sources of defence components/equipment of Israel, itself a major arms exporter.

• Published: October 11, 2024

In the regular budget estimates for the Ministry of Defence for 2024–25, there is continuing focus on innovation, domestic procurement, operational readiness and prioritising the well-being of the Service personnel.

• Published: August 07, 2024

The success of the Strategic Partnership Model policy is essential to take forward the vision of building domestic capacities in niche technological platforms like submarines.

• Published: March 28, 2024

The budget estimates for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 2024-25 are Rs 621,540.85 crore, constituting 13.04 percent of the total Union Budget and 4.7 per cent higher than BE 2023-24.

• Published: February 16, 2024

On account of pertinent international, regional and domestic dynamics, the Iranian nuclear imbroglio is at uncertain crossroads. There are however reasons for optimism. This is because of Iran’s continuing engagement with the IAEA and P5+1 and strong opposition from major powers to a military solution. In the light of the above dynamics, the Paper points out dilemmas being encountered by India and ends by exploring possible policy options in the evolving situation.

• Published: 2012

The US pursuit of missile defence in order to counter and/or hedge against Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities coupled with concerns generated by its nuclear programme has had significant strategic consequences. Iran on its part has pursued these capabilities as part of its asymmetric strategy to overcome its strategic vulnerabilities flowing from US encirclement, short-comings in force levels vis-a-vis neighbours and resource constraints in building effective conventional forces.

• Published: 2012

Apart from the United States, India’s nuclear cooperation agreements with Japan and Australia have been the most contentious domestically within those countries. The ‘slow embrace’ of India’s civil nuclear credentials by Japan — given the four years for negotiations to begin (after the December 2006 Joint Statement which talked about discussions regarding such an agreement with India) in addition to the six years it took for negotiations to bear fruit — took place despite the strategic context of increasingly closer economic, political, and security ties.

• Published: 2019

Defence and security cooperation have been the mainstays of the India-Israel strategic engagement. The Monograph places in perspective these aspects of the relationship, three decades into the establishment of full diplomatic ties. The study notes that India is taking a series of measures to enhance domestic procurement and defence indigenization.

• Published: 2022