I can and will blame the NDA, they cannot be allowed to rest on their laurels and must be held accountable for their actions (or in action). In their maiden budget they have failed to allocate any higher than 1.78% of the Indian GDP on defence- far lower than international and regional levels.
Additionally, on the defence front the NDA have been performed far below their rhetoric pre-elections had suggested. I had, in another thread, given them a 6/10 for their performance in defence matters thus far.
I agree with you that economic security and true power (above a regional level) will only come with "hard power" to back up the talk- talk softly and carry a big stick as the saying goes. India has immense diplomatic and soft power but it fails to with military power on any significant level. There is still a very naive and pacifist tendency amongst the Indian (political/civilian) establishment who do not think on a strategic level and are incapable of contemplating using military means to protect India's interests in many domains.
Doval as NSA was a truly commendable appointment though, I'm sure that he is doing a lot of good behind the scenes. On the other hand, the defence minister is a joke.