Indian Cyber Posture (ICP) is predominantly centered on the integration of cyberspace with other domains at the operational level rather than handling it as a discrete realm. The Joint Doctrine for Indian Armed Forces 2017 includes cyberspace in the core definition of national territory together with land, air, aerospace and maritime. This “Integrated Military Power Principle” (IMPP) has led to the inclusion of cyberspace at doctrinal, force structure, institutional, political, economic, diplomatic, logistics and human resource development levels, but preserves the “decentralization, of command and decision-making” at the same time.[1]
There are two fundamental drivers of this approach.
First, and the most interesting aspect is how New Delhi defines cyberpower. According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, it refers to acquiring vital information and the development of critical infrastructure imperative for growing e-commerce and establishment of global business linkages, but simultaneously denying all these to an adversary in order to maintain a competitive advantage “in the globalized world economy.”[2] The objective is to establish a secure economy and financial support for the technological modernization of military force structure.
