India’s National Defence College to add more seats for Nepal and Bangladesh : report

Published On: November 5, 2020 12:22 PM NPT By: Agencies

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: The number of seats in India’s prestigious National Defence College (NDC) will be increased by 20, bringing the total to 120 by 2022; Indian media quoted Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar as saying.

“This would mean an increased allocation for friendly foreign countries such as Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh,” the Indian defence secretary told reporters in New Delhi on the occasion of 60th founding anniversary of the NDC.

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Philippines, Indonesia and Maldives will also get new seats in future, according to Kumar.

“This is being done keeping in view the demand from friendly foreign countries for quite some time,” Kumar said, adding that the infrastructure at the NDC is being enhanced to meet this requirement.

Kumar was speaking during a press interaction on the 60 years of the NDC. As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations, a webinar on “India’s National Security — The Decade Ahead” has been organised for 5 November.

The New Delhi-based NDC primarily offers strategic courses for officers of the Indian Armed forces and the civil services. It has a current intake of 100 participants for the strategic leadership course, of whom 25 are from friendly foreign countries. Indian officers also attend such courses in the UK, US and other countries.

The National Defence College was sanctioned in 1959 to provide instructions for senior service and civil service officers in the “wider aspects of higher direction and strategy of warfar”.

The first course was launched on 27 April, 1960, with 21 participants. According to a government statement, alumni from the NDC have held significant appointments that include the current CDS, two governors, the current national security advisor, two election commissioners, 30 Indian service chiefs, over 20 ambassadors, five defence secretaries and five foreign secretaries among others.

“The NDC is a course done by selected officers who are likely to rise to higher appointments in their respective countries,” The Print online news portal of India quoted a defence official as saying.

“Allocating seats for friendly foreign countries will improve foreign cooperation by improving interactions and bonhomie between the participating officers.”