New Delhi, Nov 10, 2022: On Thursday, Defence minister Rajnath Singh called for joint efforts by the international community to successfully counter increasing security threats in the form of cyber attacks and information warfare.
While addressing the 60th National Defence College (NDC) course convocation ceremony, the minister stated that national security is the main focus of the government. “The full potential of the country can be tapped only when its interests are protected. Security is a must-have for civilization to flourish and prosper,” he said.
He further went on to say, “Information war has the potential to threaten the political stability of a country. The organised use of social media and other online content generation platforms is engineering the opinion and perspective of the masses.”
Speaking on the deployment of information war in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the union minister said that social media has played the role of a battleground for both countries to voice competing narratives about the war and portray the conflict as per their own terms.
“The propaganda campaigns as a means of strategy to shape narratives are by no means new during warfare, but its reach has increased by leaps and bounds due to the shift toward social media as the primary distribution channel,” he added.
The minister reiterated India’s belief in a multi-aligned policy saying that, “Strong and prosperous India would not be built at the cost of others, rather, we believe in helping other nations to realize their full potential. India does not believe in a world order where few are considered superior to others. Our actions are guided by the very essence of human equality and dignity, which is a part of its ancient ethos and strong moral foundations.”
During the NDC course convocation ceremony, eighty officers from the 60th NDC Course (2020 batch) were awarded the prestigious MPhil degree from the University of Madras. Singh awarded the parchments to the graduating officers.
The NDC’s flagship ‘National Security and Strategy’ course, using a comprehensive pedagogical model, is conducted over a 47-week duration.
