is the Director of the Vivekananda International Foundation, a Delhi based independent think tank dedicated to analysing India’s external and internal security environment and offering inputs to shape policies and response strategies. Before joining the VIF in 2017, he was the Deputy National Security Adviser, National Security Council Secretariat (2014-17) and Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi (2012-2014). A former member of the Indian Foreign Service, he served in the Indian missions in Moscow, London and Ankara and worked in different capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs and the National Security Council Secretariat. He has written and edited several books. His book How India Manages Its National Security (Penguin India) was published in 2018. He coedited the book India’s Foreign Policy: Surviving in a Turbulent World (Sage) in 2020 and Aatmanirbhar Bharat: A Vibrant and Strong India (Aryan Books) in 2021.