His publications include two books and several articles. In the JIC/National Security Council secretariat, he was closely involved with the preparation of the reports of the Kargil Review Committee and the Group of Ministers on national security as also with the implementation of their recommendations. The ministry of defence had utilized his services for the preparation of official accounts of the 1971 war and the counterinsurgency operations in the northeast. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Illinois, US, in the department of arms control and disarmament studies.
He has taught at the departments of defence studies and history at the Punjabi University, Patiala. He was chairman of the Task Force on Intelligence Mechanism (2008-2010), which was constituted to review the functioning of the intelligence agencies. He has also been the country's deputy national security adviser. S D Pradhan has served as chairman of India's Joint Intelligence Committee.