Dr Laxman Kumar Behera is Associate Professor at Special Centre for National Security Studies (SCNSS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Before joining JNU in 2020, he worked for over 14 years at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), a premier think tank under India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). Dr Behera specialises on issues related to Arms Procurement, Defence Offsets, Defence Industry, Military Spending and Defence Cooperation. He was closely associated with two high-level Committees set up by the Indian MoD on Defence Acquisition and Defence Expenditure. He was the Consultant to the Task Force on Self-Reliance and Defence Modernisation constituted by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Government of India.

Dr Behera was the Chief Coordinator and Member of two study teams constituted by the MoD to examine impact of offsets on Indian defence industrial base, and international best practices in defence acquisitions.

In his career, Dr Behera has published two authoritative books, and a numerous research articles in reputed journals. His research work has been extensively quoted by Government of India, Jane’s (London), SIPRI (Sweden), IISS (London) and national and international news papers and websites.

Dr Behera, a Masters in Applied and Analytical Economics, obtained his PhD from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Some of Dr Behera’s publications include:

• India’s Defence Economy: Planning, Budget, Industry and Procurement, Routledge, London, 2021.

• Indian Defence Industry: An Agenda for Making in India, Pentagon, 2016.

• Defence Offsets: International Best Practices and Lessons for India, IDSA Monograph Series, No. 45, June 2015.

• Indian Defence Industry: Issues of Self-Reliance, IDSA Monograph Series, No 21, July 2013.

• “India’s Defence Acquisition System: Need for Further Reforms”, Korean Journal of Defence Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1, March 2012, pp. 89-105.

• “Enhancing Private Sector Participation in India’s Defense Production”, Defense & Security Analysis, Vol. 27, No. 3, September 2011, pp. 251–265.