Abstract
Supply chains have emerged as an important element of national power. For India, the increasing integration of its economy with global production networks has generated significant gains in efficiency, access to technology and markets. It has also created vulnerabilities arising from geographical concentration, dependence on critical minerals and technologies, maritime chokepoints and hidden dependencies within apparently diversified supply chains. Recent disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and instability along major maritime routes, have demonstrated that an economically efficient supply chain may not necessarily be strategically secure. This article examines India’s supply-chain vulnerabilities through the metaphor of the traditional Indian game of “Snakes and Ladders”. The ‘snakes’ represent vulnerabilities that can abruptly reverse economic and strategic gains, while the ‘ladders’ represent alternative sources, routes, technologies, reserves and partnerships that provide strategic options. The article argues that India must move beyond the conventional objectives of efficiency and resilience towards redundancy and, ultimately, strategic optionality. It introduces the idea of ‘supply-chain multiplication’—the creation of multiple viable pathways from source to end-user rather than merely increasing the number of suppliers. The article recommends the establishment of a ‘National Supply Chain Security Framework’, identification of single points of failure, strategic reserves beyond petroleum, alternative international and domestic routes, end-to-end supply-chain visibility, national supply-chain war-gaming and greater integration of supply-chain considerations with national security planning. The central argument is that India should not attempt to build one perfect supply chain. It should build a system of alternative supply chains capable of absorbing disruption, adapting to changing circumstances and sustaining national power. This article seeks to simplify complex supply-chain dynamics and examine their implications for India’s strategic interests for thinkers and practitioners in the domain.
Keywords: Supply Chain Security, Strategic Resilience, Critical Minerals, Logistics, National Security
