SHIELDING INDIA'S LIFELINES

From energy grids, pipelines, hospitals, data centres, airports, rail hubs, cultural and religious sites, military bases, to nuclear plants, India's critical infrastructure is the new target of visible and invisible enemies, seeking to paralyse the arteries of the nation. The Sudarshan Chakra Mission seeks to blend mythological inspiration with modern science in creating not only a military shield but a comprehensive national protection grid to confront the increasingly asymmetric forms of modern warfare head-on.

- VISHAL DUGGAL reports

Evoking the imagery of Lord Krishna's celestial weapon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August 2025. For decades, India has relied on foreign systems—whether Russian S-300s and S-400s, American radars, or Israeli UAVs—to plug gaps in its national security grid. Sudarshan Chakra, under the "Rashtra Suraksha Kavach" initiative, promises to change this equation by protecting "every place of national significance, critical infrastructure such as hospitals, religious sites, and other sensitive locations with emerging technologies". The Prime Minister emphasised that the initiative would extend protection not just to strategic military assets but also to civilian establishments, thereby ensuring that "every citizen must feel protected.”

The urgency for such a comprehensive shield has been amplified by events of recent months. The Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, triggered a nationwide wave of outrage, culminating in Operation Sindoor, a targeted military campaign launched by India that dismantled terrorist infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In retaliation, swarms of Pakistani drones targeted Indian military bases, energy facilities, and civilian nodes. Although air defence systems intercepted and neutralised most UAVs, the conflict highlighted the need for an indigenous, multilayered, responsive air defence network for securing India's critical establishments, such as government facilities, defence installations, energy grids, and research hubs.