What is the role of Cabinet Committee on Security?

• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 1.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the meeting.

• The CCS meeting was convened to take stock of the situation emerging in the wake of the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel and the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

• The CCS reviewed the evolving situation in West Asia and expressed concern over the safety and security of the large Indian expatriate community in the region.

• It expressed serious concern over the safety and security of the large Indian expatriate community in the region.

• The CCS directed all concerned departments to take necessary and feasible measures to assist Indian nationals affected by the developments.

What is a Cabinet Committee?

• Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional, meaning, they are not mentioned in the Indian Constitution. 

• Cabinet Committee is a group of ministers which can take collective decisions that are binding across various ministries/departments. They are partly designed to reduce the burden on the Union Cabinet by allowing smaller groups of ministers to take decisions on specific policy areas. 

• The Cabinet Committees are constituted or reconstituted when a new government takes over or the Cabinet undergoes a reshuffle.

• The Prime Minister constitutes Standing Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the specific functions assigned to them.

• The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in ministries/departments of the government.

• This Secretariat provides secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees, and also assists in decision making in government by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst ministries/departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/ad hoc committees of secretaries. Through this mechanism new policy initiatives are also promoted.

Cabinet Committee on Security

The Cabinet Committee on Security is the country’s highest decision-making body on security affairs. 

Functions of the Cabinet Committee on Security include:

i) Deal with all defence related issues.

ii) Deal with issues relating to law and order, and internal security.

iii) Deal with policy matters concerning foreign affairs that have internal or external security implications including cases relating to agreements with other countries on security related issues.

iv) Deal with economic and political issues impinging on national security.

v) Review the manpower requirements relating to national security including proposals concerning creation of posts carrying the pay scale or pay band plus grade pay equivalent to that of a joint secretary to the government of India and higher, and setting up new structures to deal with security related issues.

vi) Deal with all matters relating to atomic energy.

Members of the Cabinet Committee on Security:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh 

• Home Minister Amit Shah 

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 

• Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)