Dr Tara Kartha has spent 17 years at the National Security Council Secretariat, which sits at the apex of India’s national security architecture. At the NSCS, she worked on terrorism and other security issues relating to the neighbourhood, and held special charge of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), among other responsibilities. Earlier, she was at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for eight years, where she authored her book, Tools of Terror: Light Weapons and India’s Security. She was also a consultant for the UN Non Governmental Expert Group on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and a resource person for the National Defence College (Delhi) and College of Combat (Mhow), in addition to being a member of the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), and Pugwash (India).