Story perspectives

India deploys 12 operational nuclear warheads, stockpile 190

6/12/2026

Summary

India Deploys Warheads

India deployed 12 nuclear warheads in operational status in 2025, the first such deployment in its arsenal.
SIPRI estimates India's nuclear stockpile rose to about 190 warheads by January 2026, up from roughly 180 the year before.
The warheads are paired with submarine-launched ballistic missiles and underground silos, showing a more ready nuclear posture.
Defence spending reached $92.1 billion in 2025, an 8.9 percent rise that made India the world’s fifth-largest military spender.

Summary

India Seeks NSG

The 2008 US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement gave India a Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver, letting it trade material while outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
India has not signed the NPT or Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and rejects the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) because it lacks verification.
India belongs to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group, pursuing Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership.

History

Historical Context

In 1974 India’s first underground test, Smiling Buddha, marked its entry into the nuclear club, but the 1992 Nuclear Suppliers Group embargo limited further development. After Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee approved Operation Shakti, India detonated five devices on 11 and 13 May 1998, prompting UN sanctions that were later eased by the 2008 US-India civil nuclear agreement.

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India Deploys Warheads

India deployed 12 nuclear warheads in operational status in 2025, the first such deployment in its arsenal.
SIPRI estimates India's nuclear stockpile rose to about 190 warheads by January 2026, up from roughly 180 the year before.
The warheads are paired with submarine-launched ballistic missiles and underground silos, showing a more ready nuclear posture.
Defence spending reached $92.1 billion in 2025, an 8.9 percent rise that made India the world’s fifth-largest military spender.

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