Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 04:43, 25 December 2024

Republic of India
Nuclear programme start date	1967 (57 years ago) (1967)
First nuclear weapon test	18 May 1974 (50 years ago) (1974-05-18)
First fusion weapon test	11 May 1998 (26 years ago) (1998-05-11)
Most recent test	13 May 1998 (26 years ago) (1998-05-13)
Largest-yield test	45 kilotons of TNT (190 TJ); Scale down of 200 kt model
Number of tests to date	4 (6 Devices fired)
Peak stockpile	172 warheads (2024)
Current stockpile	172 warheads (2024)
Maximum missile range	Agni-V - 7,000 to 8,000 kilometres 4,300 to 5,000 miles
NPT Party	No
^a  Smiling Buddha ^b  Declared (Pokhran-II) ^c  Declared (Pokhran-II) ^d  2024 estimate ^e  Agni V

Weapons of mass destruction
By type
Biological Chemical Nuclear Radiological
By country
Albania Algeria Argentina Australia Brazil Bulgaria Canada China Egypt France Germany India Iran Iraq Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Libya Mexico Myanmar Netherlands North Korea Pakistan Philippines Poland Rhodesia Romania Russia (Soviet Union) Saudi Arabia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Ukraine United Kingdom United States Yugoslavia
Proliferation
Chemical Nuclear Missiles
Treaties
List of treaties (treaty parties)
Category
v t e

India possesses nuclear weapons and previously developed chemical weapons. Although India has not released any official statements about the size of its nuclear arsenal, recent estimates suggest that India has 172 nuclear weapons and has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for up to 200 nuclear weapons. In 1999, India was estimated to have 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) of separated reactor-grade plutonium, with a total amount of 8,300 kilograms (18,300 lb) of civilian plutonium, enough for approximately 1,000 nuclear weapons. India has conducted nuclear weapons tests in a pair of series namely Pokhran I and Pokhran II.

India is a member of three multilateral export control regimes — the Missile Technology Control Regime, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group. It has signed and ratified the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention. India is also a subscribing state to the Hague Code of Conduct. India has signed neither the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, considering both to be flawed and discriminatory. India previously possessed chemical weapons, but voluntarily destroyed its entire stockpile in 2009 — one of the seven countries to meet the OPCW extended deadline.

India maintains a "no first use" nuclear policy and has developed a nuclear triad capability as a part of its "Minimum Credible Deterrence" doctrine.

Biological weapons

India has ratified the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and pledges to abide by its obligations. There is no clear evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that directly points toward an offensive BW program. India does possess the scientific capability and infrastructure to launch an offensive BW program. In terms of delivery, India also possesses the capability to produce aerosols and has numerous potential delivery systems ranging from crop dusters to sophisticated ballistic missiles. No information exists in the public domain suggesting interest by the Indian government in the delivery of biological agents by these or any other means. To reiterate the latter point, in October 2002, then-President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam asserted that "India will not make biological weapons. It is cruel to human beings".

Chemical weapons

In 1992, India signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), becoming one of the original signatories of the CWC in 1993, and ratified it on 2 September 1996. According to India's ex-Army Chief General Sundarji, a country having the capability of making nuclear weapons does not need to have chemical weapons, since the dread of chemical weapons could be created only in those countries that do not have nuclear weapons. Others suggested that the fact that India has found chemical weapons dispensable highlighted its confidence in the conventional weapons system at its command.

In June 1997, India declared its stock of chemical weapons (1,045 tonnes of sulphur mustard). By the end of 2006, India had destroyed more than 75 percent of its chemical weapons/material stockpile and was granted an extension for destroying the remaining stocks by April 2009 and was expected to achieve 100 percent destruction within that time frame. India informed the United Nations in May 2009 that it had destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons in compliance with the international Chemical Weapons Convention. With this India has become the third country after South Korea and Albania to do so. This was cross-checked by inspectors of the United Nations.

India has an advanced commercial chemical industry, and produces the bulk of its chemicals for domestic consumption. It is also widely acknowledged that India has an extensive civilian chemical and pharmaceutical industry and annually exports considerable quantities of chemicals to countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Taiwan.

Nuclear weapons

As early as 26 June 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru, soon to be India's first Prime Minister, announced:

As long as the world is constituted as it is, every country will have to devise and use the latest devices for its protection. I have no doubt India will develop her scientific researches and I hope Indian scientists will use the atomic force for constructive purposes. But if India is threatened, she will inevitably try to defend herself by all means at her disposal.

Nehru pursued a policy of formally foregoing nuclear weapons while at the same time constructing a civilian nuclear energy program and by extension the capability to make a nuclear bomb. This policy was motivated by a conventional weapons superiority over its rivals Pakistan and China. India built its first research reactor in 1956 and its first plutonium reprocessing plant by 1964. India's nuclear programme can trace its origins to March 1944 and its three-stage efforts in technology were established by Homi Jehangir Bhabha when he founded the nuclear research center, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

India's loss to China in a brief Himalayan border war in October 1962, provided the New Delhi government impetus for developing nuclear weapons as a means of deterring potential Chinese aggression. By 1964 India was in a position to develop nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri opposed developing nuclear weapons but fell under intense political pressure, including elements within the ruling Indian National Congress. India was also unable to obtain security guarantees from either the United States or the Soviet Union. As a result, Shastri announced that India would pursue the capability of what it called "peaceful nuclear explosions" that could be weaponized in the future.

India first tested a nuclear device in 1974 (code-named "Smiling Buddha"), under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as a peaceful nuclear explosion. The test used plutonium produced in the Canadian-supplied CIRUS reactor, and raised concerns that nuclear technology supplied for peaceful purposes could be diverted to weapons purposes. This also stimulated the early work of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. During the 1970s and the 1980s Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, and Rajiv Gandhi opposed weaponizing its nuclear program beyond PNE and theoretical research. In 1982, Indira Gandhi refused to allow the Defence Research and Development Organisation to develop active nuclear weapons but also approved the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that would develop missiles to deliver a nuclear warhead if India developed one. India also supported international nuclear non-proliferation and arms control efforts.

The situation changed again in the late 1980s after the 1987 Brasstacks crisis and the beginning of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program. In 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi gave Defense Secretary Naresh Chandra approval to develop the bomb. Chandra continued the program through successive governments in the 1990s after Gandhi lost power in the 1989 general election. India most likely completed weaponized nuclear warheads around 1994. India performed further nuclear tests in 1998 (code-named "Operation Shakti") under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 1998, as a response to the continuing tests, the United States and Japan imposed sanctions on India, which have since been lifted.

Neutron bombs

R Chidambaram, who headed India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests, said in a 1999 interview with the Press Trust of India that India is capable of producing a neutron bomb.

India's no-first-use policy

India has a declared nuclear no-first-use policy and is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on "credible minimum deterrence." In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the doctrine which asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of "retaliation only". The document also maintains that India "will not be the first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail" and that decisions to authorize the use of nuclear weapons would be made by the Prime Minister or his 'designated successor(s)'. According to the NRDC, despite the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001–2002, India remained committed to its nuclear no-first-use policy.

India's Strategic Nuclear Command was formally established in 2003, with an Indian Air Force officer, Air Marshal Tej Mohan Asthana, as the Commander-in-Chief. The Joint Services SNC is the custodian of all of India's nuclear weapons, missiles and defense assets. It is also responsible for executing all aspects of India's nuclear policy. However, the civil leadership, in the form of the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) is the only body authorised to order a nuclear strike against another offending strike. The National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon reiterated a policy of "no first use" against nuclear weapon states and "non-use against non-nuclear weapon states" in a speech on the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebrations of National Defence College in New Delhi on 21 October 2010, a doctrine Menon said reflected India's "strategic culture, with its emphasis on minimal deterrence. In April 2013 Shyam Saran, convener of the National Security Advisory Board, affirmed that regardless of the size of a nuclear attack against India, be it a miniaturised version or a "big" missile, India will retaliate massively to inflict unacceptable damage.

In 2016, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar questioned the no-first-use policy, asking why India should "bind" itself when it is a "responsible nuclear power". Later he clarified that this was his personal opinion. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in 2019 said that in the future, India's no-first-use policy might change depending upon the "circumstances". In a January 2022 statement, however, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's doctrine of "maintaining a credible minimum deterrence based on a No First Use posture and non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states".

Indian nuclear triad

India's nuclear triad is a military force structure that includes three parts:

• Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs): Land-based nuclear missiles
• Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs): Nuclear-missile-armed submarines
• Strategic bombers: Aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles

The purpose of India's nuclear triad is to increase nuclear deterrence by reducing the chance of an enemy destroying all of India's nuclear forces in a first-strike attack. This ensures that India can still launch a second strike.

Here are some details about India's nuclear triad:

• INS Arighaat: India's second nuclear submarine, INS Arighaat, has improved nuclear propulsion technology that allows it to operate more stealthily. It can carry up to four K-4 SLBMs or up to 12 K-15 SLBMs.
• INS Arihant: India's first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was commissioned in 2016.
• No-first-use policy: India's policy is to not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states and to only use them in self-defense against nuclear weapon states.

Air-launched nuclear weapons

Nuclear-armed fighter-bombers were India's first and only nuclear-capable strike force until 2003 when the country's first land-based nuclear ballistic missiles were fielded.

In addition to their ground-attack role, it is believed that the Dassault Mirage 2000s and SEPECAT Jaguars of the Indian Air Force are able to provide a secondary nuclear-strike role. The SEPECAT Jaguar was designed to be able to carry and deploy nuclear weapons and the Indian Air Force has identified the jet as being capable of delivering Indian nuclear weapons. The most likely delivery method would be the use of bombs that are free-falling and unguided.

Three airbases with four squadrons of Mirage 2000H (about 16 aircraft with 16 bombs from 1st and 7th squadrons of the 40th Wing at Maharajpur Air Force Station) and Jaguar IS/IB (about 32 aircraft with 32 bombs from one squadron each at Ambala Air Force Station and Gorakhpur Air Force Station) aircraft are believed to be assigned the nuclear strike role.

Land-based ballistic missiles

The estimated 68 nuclear warheads of land-based nuclear weapons of India are under the control of and deployed by the Strategic Forces Command, using a variety of vehicles and launching silos. They currently consist of six different types of ballistic missiles, the Agni-I, the Agni-II, Agni-III, Agni-IV, Agni-V, Agni-P, and the Army's variant of the Prithvi missile family – the Prithvi-I. However, the Prithvi missiles are less useful for delivering nuclear weapons because they have a shorter range and must be deployed very close to the India–Pakistan border. Additional variants of the Agni missile series have recently been inducted including the most recent, the Agni-IV and the Agni-V, which is currently being deployed. Agni-VI is also under development, with an estimated range of 10,000–12,000 km and features such as Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) or Maneuverable reentry vehicles (MARVs).

Sea-based ballistic missiles

The Indian Navy has developed two sea-based delivery systems for nuclear weapons, completing Indian ambitions for a nuclear triad, which may have been deployed in 2015.

The first is a submarine-launched system consisting of at least four 6,000-tonne (nuclear-powered) ballistic missile submarines of the Arihant class. The first vessel, INS Arihant, was commissioned in August 2016. She is the first nuclear-powered submarine to be built by India. A CIA report claimed that Russia provided technological aid to the naval nuclear propulsion program. The submarines will be armed with up to 12 Sagarika (K-15) missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Sagarika is a submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of 700 km. This missile has a length of 8.5 meters, weighs seven tonnes and can carry a pay load of up to 50 kg. Sagarika has already been test-fired from an underwater pontoon, but now DRDO is planning a full-fledged test of the missile from a submarine and for this purpose may use the services of the Russian Navy. India's DRDO is also working on a submarine-launched ballistic missile version of the Agni-III missile, known as the Agni-III SL. According to Indian defence sources, the Agni-III SL will have a range of 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi). The new missile will complement the older and less capable Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missiles. However, the Arihant class ballistic missile submarines will be only capable of carrying a maximum of four Agni-III SL.

The second is a ship-launched system based around the short-range ship-launched Dhanush ballistic missile (a variant of the Prithvi missile). It has a range of around 300 km. In the year 2000, the short-range missile was test-fired from INS Subhadra (a Sukanya class patrol craft). INS Subhadra was modified for the test and the missile was launched from the reinforced helicopter deck. The results were considered partially successful. In 2004, the missile was again tested from INS Subhadra and this time the results were reported successful. In December 2005 the missile was tested again, but this time from the destroyer INS Rajput. The test was a success with the missile hitting the land based target.

Thermonuclear weapons

On 11 May 1998, India announced that it had detonated a thermonuclear bomb in its Operation Shakti tests ("Shakti-I", specifically, in Hindi the word 'Shakti' means power). Samar Mubarakmand, a Pakistani nuclear physicist, asserted that if Shakti-I had been a thermonuclear test, the device had failed to fire. However, Harold M. Agnew, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said that India's assertion of having detonated a staged thermonuclear bomb was very much believable. India says that their thermonuclear device was tested at a controlled yield of 45 kt (190 TJ) because of the proximity of the Khetolai village at about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), to ensure that the houses in that village do not suffer significant damage. Another cited reason was that radioactivity released from yields significantly more than 45 Kilotons might not have been contained fully. After the Pokhran-II tests, Rajagopala Chidambaram, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India said that India has the capability to build thermonuclear bombs of any yield at will.

The yield of India's hydrogen bomb test remains highly debatable among the Indian science community and international scholars. The question of politicisation and disputes between Indian scientists further complicated the matter.

In an interview in August 2009, the director for the 1998 test site preparations, K. Santhanam claimed that the yield of the thermonuclear explosion was lower than expected and that India should therefore not rush into signing the CTBT. Other Indian scientists involved in the test have disputed K. Santhanam's claim, arguing that Santhanam's claims are unscientific. British seismologist Roger Clarke argued that the magnitudes suggested a combined yield of up to 60 kilotonnes of TNT (250 TJ), consistent with the Indian announced total yield of 56 kilotonnes of TNT (230 TJ). U.S. seismologist Jack Evernden has argued that for correct estimation of yields, one should 'account properly for geological and seismological differences between test sites.

However, India officially maintains that it can build thermonuclear weapons of various yields up to around 200 kt (840 TJ) based on the Shakti-1 thermonuclear test.

International response

India is not a signatory to either the NPT or the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) but did accede to the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in October 1963. Journalist, conspiracy theorist, and holocaust denier Gregory Douglas claims CIA officer Robert Crowley told him in an interview in 1993 that India's pursuit of the programme disturbed the United States and that the CIA assassinated Prime Minister Shastri and Homi Bhabha in 1966. India is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and four of its 17 nuclear reactors are subject to IAEA safeguards. India announced its lack of intention to accede to the NPT as late as 1997 by voting against the paragraph of a General Assembly Resolution which urged all non-signatories of the treaty to accede to it at the earliest possible date. India voted against the UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the CTBT, which was adopted on 10 September 1996. India objected to the lack of provision for universal nuclear disarmament "within a time-bound framework." India also demanded that the treaty ban laboratory simulations. In addition, India opposed the provision in Article XIV of the CTBT that requires India's ratification for the treaty to enter into force, which India argued was a violation of its sovereign right to choose whether it would sign the treaty. In early February 1997, Foreign Minister I. K. Gujral reiterated India's opposition to the treaty, saying that "India favors any step aimed at destroying nuclear weapons, but considers that the treaty in its current form is not comprehensive and bans only certain types of tests."

In August 2008, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a safeguards agreement with India under which the former will gradually gain access to India's civilian nuclear reactors. In September 2008, the Nuclear Suppliers Group granted India a waiver to access civilian nuclear technology and fuel from other countries. The implementation of this waiver makes India the only known country with nuclear weapons which is not a party to the NPT but is still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with the rest of the world.

Since the implementation of the NSG waiver, India has signed nuclear deals with several countries including France, United States, Mongolia, Namibia, Kazakhstan and Australia while the framework for similar deals with Canada and the United Kingdom are also being prepared.

Domestic legislation

India has several laws in whole or partial measure that deal with the regulation of weapons of mass destruction. They include the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act of 2005. In April 2022 a bill was tabled to amend the 2005 act to include the financing of proliferation.

See also

Weapons of mass destruction

• India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement
• Weapons of mass destruction
• Nuclear Command Authority (India)

Defense-related

• Indian military satellites
• Guided missiles of India
• Indian Armed Forces
• Indian Human Spaceflight Programme

References

1. ^ "Role of nuclear weapons grows as geopolitical relations deteriorate—new SIPRI Yearbook out now | SIPRI". www.sipri.org. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
2. "Press Statement by Dr. Anil Kakodkar and Dr. R. Chidambaram on Pokhran-II tests". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
3. Parashar, Sachin (28 August 2009). "Kalam certifies Pokharan II, Santhanam stands his ground". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
4. ^ Kristensen, Hans M.; Norris, Robert S. "Status of World Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
5. "Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What at a Glance". Arms Control Association. ACA. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
6. "Modernization of nuclear weapons continues; number of peacekeepers declines: New SIPRI Yearbook out now". sipri.org. SIPRI. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
7. Saran, Shyam (25 April 2013). "Is India's Nuclear Deterrent Credible? (Statement given by Shyam Saran, Chairman of India's National Security Advisory Board)". irgamag.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013.  These include a modest arsenal, nuclear-capable aircraft and missiles, both in fixed underground silos as well as  mounted on mobile rail and road-based platforms. These land-based missiles include both Agni-II (1,500 km) as well as Agni-III (2,500 km) missiles. The range and accuracy of further versions – for example, Agni V (5,000 km), which was tested successfully only recently – will improve with the acquisition of further technological capability and experience
8. "New chief of India's military research complex reveals brave new mandate". India Today. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
9. "Strategic Forces Command fires AGNI-3 successfully". Business Standard. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013. (Second operational test firing by the Strategic Forces Command).
10. Kristensen, Hans M.; Norris, Robert S. (5 July 2017). "Indian nuclear forces, 2017". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 73 (4): 205. Bibcode:2017BuAtS..73d.205K. doi:10.1080/00963402.2017.1337998.
11. "India's Nuclear Weapons Program". nuclearweaponarchive.org. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
12. Albright, David (11 October 2000). "India's and Pakistan's Fissile Material and Nuclear Weapons Inventories, end of 1999". Institute for Science and International Security. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
13. Wheeler, Travis; Byrne, Heather (30 May 2018). "The story of Pokhran: Tests that established India as nuclear power, became cornerstone of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure as PM". The Diplomat.
14. Kumar 2010.
15. "India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile". Zee News. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
16. Nair 2007.
17. Pandit 2009.
18. ^ "Official Spokesperson's response to a media query regarding the Joint Statement on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
19. ^ "Research Library: Country Profiles: India Biological Chronology". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
20. "Member State – India". OPCW. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
21. ^ "India to destroy chemical weapons stockpile by 2009". Dominican Today. 30 December 2007. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
22. Smithson, Amy Gaffney, Frank Jr. "India declares its stock of chemical weapons". India Abroad. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
23. "India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile". Zee News. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
24. Ritu Sharma (14 May 2009). India destroys its chemical weapons stockpile. IANS. Yahoo News. Archived 21 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
25. "Research Library: Country Profiles: India Biological Chronology". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
26. B. M. Udgaonkar, India’s nuclear capability, her security concerns and the recent tests, Indian Academy of Sciences, January 1999.
27. ^ "The Varieties of Hedgers: India, Japan, West Germany, Brazil and Argentina, Sweden and Switzerland", Seeking the Bomb: Strategies of Nuclear Proliferation, Princeton University Press, pp. 53–126, 31 December 2020, doi:10.1515/9780691223063-005, ISBN 978-0-691-22306-3, retrieved 20 January 2022
28. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
29. "Apsara Research Reactor". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
30. Plutonium Plant at Trombay. National Security Archive. 1964.
31. Chengappa, Raj (2000). Weapons of peace : the secret story of India's quest to be a nuclear power. New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers, India. ISBN 978-81-7223-330-3.
32. "India's Nuclear Weapons Program. The Beginning: 1944–1960". Nuclear weapon archive. 30 March 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
33. Bruce Riedel (28 June 2012). "JFK's Overshadowed Crisis". The National Interest. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
34. "India could have gone nuclear as early as 1964: US intelligence". The Times of India. PTI. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
35. India Profile. Nuclear Chronology 1974–1975. Nuclear Threat Initiative. 2006. Archived 1 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
36. Wagner, Alex (2001). "Bush Waives Nuclear-Related Sanctions on India, Pakistan". Arms Control Association.
37. Karp, Jonathan (17 August 1999). "India Discloses It Is Able To Build a Neutron Bomb". The Wall Street Journal.
38. ^ "Draft Report of National Security Advisory Board on Indian Nuclear Doctrine". Embassy of India, Washington DC. 17 August 1999. Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
39. "Speech by NSA Shri Shivshankar Menon at NDC on 'The Role of Force in Strategic Affairs'". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
40. NSA Shivshankar Menon at NDC (Speech) : india Blooms Archived 10 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
41. Bagchi, Indrani (30 April 2013). "Even a midget nuke strike will lead to massive retaliation, India warns Pak". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
42. "Why bind ourselves to 'no first use policy', says Parrikar on India's nuke doctrine". The Hindu. 10 November 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
43. "'No First Use' nuclear policy depends on circumstances: Rajnath Singh". The Hindu. 16 August 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
44. "India Says Committed to 'No First Use' of Nuclear Weapons for Now". The New York Times. Reuters. 16 August 2019. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
45. Press Trust of India (8 January 2022). "India hails statement by 5 world powers to stop nuclear weapons". Business Standard. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
46. "India's nuclear triad: still a work in progress".
47. "Needed, a nuclear triad". Sunday-guardian.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
48. General, Lt. "Indian Navy's Capability Perspective – SP's Naval Forces". Spsnavalforces.net. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
49. "India To Construct Two More Arihant Nuclear Submarines For Navy". Defence Now. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
50. "INS Arihant: What India's new nuclear submarine could mean for the world - Times of India". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
51. "India Nears Completion Of Nuclear Triad With Armed Submarine". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
52. ^ Kristensen, Hans M.; Norris, Robert S. (2017). "Indian nuclear forces, 2017". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 73 (4): 205–209. Bibcode:2017BuAtS..73d.205K. doi:10.1080/00963402.2017.1337998.
53. Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris (14 July 2012). Indian nuclear forces, 2012. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived 20 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
54. India plans to impart power punch to Jaguar fighters, October 2012.
55. "CDI Nuclear Issues Area – Nuclear Weapons Database: French Nuclear Delivery Systems". cdi.org. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
56. "Successful Test launch of AGNI V". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
57. Gupta, Shishir (14 August 2018). "Agni-V set to be inducted by December after one more test". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
58. Pubby, Manu (19 November 2019). "Confident of doubling range of the Astra, will be the most lethal air to air missile: DRDO Chief". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
59. Shukla, Ajai (7 May 2013). "Advanced Agni-6 missile with multiple warheads likely by 2017". Business Standard India. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
60. Subramanian, T.S. (4 February 2013). "Agni-VI all set to take shape". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
61. Peri, Dinakar (12 June 2014). "India's Nuclear Triad Finally Coming of Age". The Diplomat. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
62. "Nuclear triad weapons ready for deployment: DRDO". Livemint. PTI. 7 July 2014.
63. Unnithan, Sandeep (28 January 2008). "The secret undersea weapon". India Today. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
64. "Indian nuclear submarine", India Today, August 2007 edition
65. "Russia helped India's nuke programme: CIA". Press Trust of India. 9 January 2003. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
66. Naqvi, Jawed (9 January 2009). "Russia helped Indian nuclear programme, says CIA". The Dawn. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
67. "Sagarika missile test-fired successfully". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
68. "Coming from India's defense unit: ASTRA missile". Rediff.com. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
69. "Agni-III test-fired successfully". Hinduonnet.com. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
70. "Nuclear Data – Table of Indian Nuclear Forces, 2002". NRDC. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
71. Arun Vishwakarma (2005). Prithvi SRBM. Bharat Rakshak. Archived 18 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
72. "Dhanush, naval surface-to-surface missile, test fired successfully". domain-b.com. 31 March 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
73. "India s Dhanush Undergoes 1st Night Test – SP's Naval Forces". SP's Naval Forces. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
74. Keck, Zachary (30 July 2013). "India's First Ballistic Missile Sub to Begin Sea Trials". The Diplomat.
75. Burns, John F. (12 May 1998). "India Sets 3 Nuclear Blasts, Defying a Worldwide Ban; Tests Bring a Sharp Outcry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
76. ^ "Pokhran – II tests were fully successful; given India capability to build nuclear deterrence: Dr. Kakodkar and Dr. Chidambaram". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
77. Khan, Kamran (30 May 1998). "Tit-for-Tat: Pakistan tested 6 nuclear devices in response to Indian's tests". The News International. Retrieved 10 August 2011. One of these explosions were thermonuclear, we are doing research and can do a fusion test if asked, said by Abdul Qadeer Khan. 'These boosted devices are like a half way stage towards a thermonuclear bomb. They use elements of the thermonuclear process, and are effectively stronger Atom bombs', quoted by Munir Ahmad Khan.
78. ^ Burns, John F. (18 May 1998). "Nuclear Anxiety: The Overview; India Detonated a Hydrogen Bomb, Experts Confirm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
79. ^ "Press Statement by Dr. Anil Kakodkar and Dr. R. Chidambaram on Pokhran-II tests". Press Information Bureau. 24 September 2009.
80. PTI, Press Trust of India (25 September 2009). "AEC ex-chief backs Santhanam on Pokhran-II". The Hindu, 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
81. Sublette, Carey; et al. "What are the real yield of India's Test?". What Are the Real Yields of India's Test?. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
82. "Former NSA disagrees with scientist, says Pokhran II successful". The Times of India. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
83. "We have an adequate scientific database for designing ... a credible nuclear deterrent". Frontline. 2 January 1999. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
84. "Nukes of 200kt yield possible: Architect of Pokhran-II". The Times of India. 25 September 2009.
85. Douglas, Gregory (2002). Regicide: The Official Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Castle Hill Pub. ISBN 9781591482970.
86. Weber, Mark. "Not Quite the Hitler Diaries - Gestapo Chief (Review)". www.ihr.org. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
87. Douglas, Gregory. "Conversations With The Crow". p. 56. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
88. Douglas, Gregory (2013). Conversations with the Crow. Basilisk Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9780991175208.
89. Unrevealed, Files (23 September 2021). "Homi Bhabha's Death: An Unfortunate Accident or the Hands of the Crow". Unrevealed Files. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
90. "Operative spoke of CIA hand in 1966 crash: Report". Retrieved 14 June 2024.
91. United Nations General Assembly Session 52 Verbatim 67. A/52/PV.67 9 December 1997. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
92. United Nations General Assembly Session 52 Resolution A/RES/52/38 page 16. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
93. "IAEA approves India nuclear inspection deal". International Atomic Energy Agency. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
94. "Nuclear Suppliers Group Grants India Historic Waiver — MarketWatch". Marketwatch.com. 6 October 2008. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
95. "AFP: India energised by nuclear pacts". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
96. ^ R B Grover, "Opening up of international civil nuclear cooperation with India and related development", Progress in Nuclear Energy 101(2017) 161–167.
97. "India, France agree on civil nuclear cooperation". Rediff.com. PTI. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
98. "Bush signs India-US nuclear deal into law". Livemint. Reuters. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
99. "India, Mongolia sign civil, nuclear cooperation pact – India". The Times of India. 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
100. Dutta, Sanjay (23 January 2009). "Kazakh nuclear, oil deals hang in balance". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
101. Haidar, Suhasini (5 September 2014). "India, Australia seal civil nuclear deal". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
102. "UK, Canada eye India's nuclear business". NDTV.com. 18 January 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
103. Sitakanta Mishra, THE PAPER (12 June 2016). "India – From 'Nuclear Apartheid' to Nuclear Multi-Alignment". IndraStra.
104. ^ Rajagopalan, Rajeswari Pillai; Biswas, Arka (2016). Locating India within the Global Non-Proliferation Architecture: Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities (PDF). Observer Research Foundation. pp. 13, 14, 44. ISBN 978-81-86818-18-3.
105. "Explained: What are WMDs, the existing law on which India now wants to amend?". The Indian Express. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.

Sources

• Kumar, A. V. (1 May 2010), "Reforming the NPT to Include India", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, archived from the original on 7 April 2014, retrieved 1 November 2010
• Nair, V. K. (2007), "No More Ambiguity: India's Nuclear Policy" (PDF), afsa.org, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007, retrieved 7 June 2007
• Pandit, Rajat (27 July 2009), "N-Submarine to Give India Crucial Third Leg of Nuke Triad", The Times of India, archived from the original on 11 August 2011, retrieved 10 March 2010

Further reading

• Abraham, Itty (1998). The Making of the Indian Atomic Bomb. Science, Secrecy, and the Postcolonial State. London and New York: Zed Books. ISBN 9788125016151.
• Perkovich, George (1999). India's Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23210-5.
• Pahuja, Om Parkash (2001). India: A Nuclear Weapon State. New Delhi: Ocean Books. ISBN 978-81-87100-69-0.
• Pant, Harsh V., Yogesh Joshi (2018). Indian Nuclear Policy. Oxford University Press. online review
• Szalontai, Balázs (2011). The Elephant in the Room: The Soviet Union and India’s Nuclear Program, 1967–1989. Nuclear Proliferation International History Project Working Paper #1. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
• Gurmeet Kanwal (2016). India’s Nuclear Force Structure 2025. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Sarkar, Jayita (2022). Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War. Cornell University Press.

External links

• Indian nuclear weapons program at The Nuclear Weapon Archive
• At Nuclear Files:

  Nuclear India's nuclear confrontation with Pakistan Archived 23 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine

  Nuclear weapon stockpiles Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine

• CIA on India's nuclear program
• India's missile testing ranges
• Video interviews taken at the 2008 NPT PrepCom on the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act
• Annotated bibliography for India's nuclear weapons program at the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues.
• Woodrow Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, including a collection of primary-source documents on Indian nuclear development.
• The National Security Archive's "Nuclear Vault" features a number of compilations of declassified US government documents related to India's nuclear program.

v t e Indian Armed Forces
Indian Army  Indian Navy  Indian Air Force
Leadership	President Prime Minister Minister of Defence Defence Secretary National Security Advisor Chief of Defence Staff (Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee) Chief of the Army Staff Chief of the Naval Staff Chief of the Air Staff Vice Chief of Defence Staff Director General Armed Forces Medical Services Serving generals Serving admirals Serving marshals
Organisation	Ministry and committees/councils Ministry of Defence Department of Military Affairs Department of Defence Research and Development Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare National Security Council Cabinet Committee on Security Standing Committee on Defence Defence Planning Committee Nuclear Command Authority Integrated Defence Staff Defence Intelligence Agency Commands Joint Integrated Theatre Commands Andaman and Nicobar Command Commander-in-Chief Strategic Forces Command Commander-in-Chief Northern Theatre Command (India) Western Theatre Command (India) Maritime Theatre Command Defence Cyber Agency Defence Space Agency Armed Forces Special Operations Division Army Central Command Eastern Command Northern Command Southern Command South Western Command Western Command Army Training Command Navy Western Naval Command Eastern Naval Command Southern Naval Command Air Force Central Air Command Eastern Air Command Southern Air Command South Western Air Command Western Air Command Training Command Maintenance Command Other components Indian Coast Guard National Cadet Corps Paramilitary forces Special forces Territorial Army Border Roads Organisation
Personnel	Military Academies Ranks and insignia Army Navy Air Force Coast Guard Border Roads Organisation Paramilitary forces Awards and Decorations
Operations	Wars Indo-Pakistani wars 1947–1948 1965 Battle of Asal Uttar Battle of Chawinda 1971 Naval War Air War Battle of Chamb Operation Trident Operation Cactus-Lilly Battle of Longewala Kargil War Sino-Indian War External conflicts Kashmir conflict Korean War Siachen conflict Indo-Pakistani border skirmishes Operation Parakram 2011 2013 2014–2015 2016–2018 2019 Balakot airstrike Congo Crisis Sino-Indian border skirmish 1987 Nathu La and Cho La clashes Doklam standoff 2020 Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Operation Cactus Evacuation of Indian civilians from Kuwait Piracy off the coast of Somalia Operation Raahat Operation Devi Shakti Indo-Myanmar border strike Annexations Operation Polo (Hyderabad) Operation Vijay (Portuguese India - Goa, Damaon, Silvassa & Diu) Junagadh Dadra and Nagar Haveli Insurgencies Northeast India Punjab Operation Blue Star Operation Woodrose Kashmir Counter-insurgency operations LOC surgical strike
Equipment	Defence Research and Development Organisation Ordnance Factory Board Ballistic missiles Weapons of mass destruction Army List of equipment of the Indian Army Navy Active Ships Historical Ships Weapon Systems Future Air Force Active Aircraft Historical Aircraft Aircraft Squadrons Future
Documents	Indian Maritime Security Strategy
Other topics	President's fleet review History President's Colour Award Women in the Indian Armed Forces Armed Forces Flag Day Armed Forces Tribunal Indian Armed Forces rank flags Indian military bands National War Memorial Amar Jawan Jyoti
Category Army Navy Air Force

• Nuclear technology

• Nuclear weapons programme of India
• Military of India
• History of the Republic of India
• Weapons of mass destruction by country