Multi Disciplinary National Security Future Research Centre

Securing India's Future through Strategic Foresight, Innovation, and Integrated Governance

The ESPIRIDI Multi-Disciplinary National Security Futures Research Centre (MDNSFRC) is a cutting-edge Indian initiative dedicated to advancing strategic foresight, national resilience, and anticipatory security governance. Anchored in the belief that India’s security future demands more than reactive defense—it requires proactive intelligence, innovation-driven preparedness, and cross-sectoral alignment—the Centre serves as a think-and-do tank for navigating the evolving contours of national security.

Established by ESPIRIDI LLP, the Centre unites experts in defense strategy, counter-UAS governance, critical infrastructure protection, civil aviation security, AI safety, cybersecurity, environmental risk, and crisis foresight. It engages with multiple stakeholders—from central ministries and security forces to academic institutions, civil society, and private sector innovators—to co-create agile, inclusive, and future-ready national security strategies.

In an era of multidimensional threats—ranging from hybrid warfare and misinformation to drone incursions, cyberattacks, and climate-induced volatility—the Centre champions a Whole-of-Government (WoG) and Whole-of-Society (WoS) approach to national security. By bridging silos and integrating strategic foresight into public policy, EMDNS-FRC enables India to anticipate, adapt, and act with vision and unity.

Core Objectives

• Advance Strategic National Security Foresight: Utilize horizon scanning, scenario planning, risk mapping, and war-gaming to assess low-probability, high-impact threats and emerging security dynamics affecting India.

• Support Policy–Tech Integration for Homeland Security: Develop future-ready policy frameworks at the intersection of national defense, AI governance, aviation security, space surveillance, and cyberinfrastructure protection.

• Strengthen Counter-UAS and Airspace Governance: Lead national research and policy innovation on unmanned aerial threats, CUAS architecture, and integrated airspace monitoring for civilian and defense sectors.

• Foster Cross-Sectoral Collaboration: Build inter-agency, inter-disciplinary, and inter-sectoral partnerships to drive national security preparedness across ministries, startups, think tanks, and universities.

• Build National Capacity for Strategic Resilience: Launch capacity-building programs, foresight fellowships, and simulation labs that prepare the next generation of Indian security thinkers, innovators, and policy leaders.
  

Strategic Research Pillars

• Homeland Security & Counter-Terrorism Futures

• Civil & Military Aviation Security

• CUAS Policy & Airspace Risk Management

• Cybersecurity & Digital Infrastructure Defense

• Climate, Energy & Environmental Security

• AI, Automation & Autonomous Weapons Governance

• Disaster Risk Reduction & Strategic Crisis Foresight

• Border Management & Maritime Surveillance

• Societal Resilience & Public Trust in Security

• Gender, Peace, and Inclusive Security Leadership

  
  

Key Initiatives

• India Strategic Foresight Fellowship – A specialized program nurturing young scholars and professionals in national security foresight and policy innovation.

• National CUAS Governance Hub – A flagship unit providing policy blueprints, risk models, and regulatory pathways to strengthen India’s counter-drone ecosystem.

• Security Resilience Index for India (SRI–India) – A performance tracking tool to evaluate foresight capacity, institutional agility, and diversity in national security governance.

• National Simulation Labs & Crisis War-Gaming – Advanced scenario-based platforms for testing India’s preparedness against future high-impact threat vectors.

  
  

Our Approach

MDNSFRC operates on the principle that national security must be anticipatory, inclusive, and adaptive. We promote Whole-of-Government alignment across ministries and agencies to unify strategic direction, and Whole-of-Society collaboration to empower communities, innovators, academia, and private actors in security preparedness. At the national level: WoG ensures inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination — defense, foreign affairs, internal security, civil aviation, cyber, health, etc.—work collaboratively to respond to complex threats (e.g., terrorism, pandemics, hybrid warfare).

WoS recognizes that national security isn’t just the state’s responsibility. Citizens, private tech firms, academic institutions, civil society, and the media all play roles in resilience-building, awareness, and innovation.

By fusing strategic foresight, systems thinking, indigenous innovation, and ethical leadership, the centre supports India’s ambition to become a global exemplar in security intelligence, peacebuilding, and policy innovation.