India ‘deploys’ 12 nuclear warheads in big policy shift; country’s nukes now rise to 190

NEW DELHI: In a drastic shift in its nuclear weapons policy, India has for the first time “deployed” 12 nuclear warheads. The revelation has been made in the latest report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the world's top arms-tracking organisation. It also said that India’s nuclear warheads have now increased to 190 as of Jan 2026.

The report claims this is the first time India's nuclear arsenal has been classified as operationally deployed rather than stockpiled — a big departure from decades of New Delhi's policy where nuclear warheads and delivery systems were kept in separate storage.

“It has long been assumed that India stores its nuclear warheads separate from its deployed launchers during peacetime. However, the country's recent moves towards placing missiles in canisters and conducting sea-based deterrence patrols suggest that India could be shifting in the direction of mating some of its warheads with their launchers in peacetime,” the report said.

Deploying ready-to-fire nuclear weapons in underground missile silos and new nuclear submarines shows heightened readiness of the Indian armed forces. The 12 newly deployed warheads represent the first instance of India mating nuclear warheads with delivery systems or placing them at bases with operational forces, it said.

The SIPRI report further states that India's nuclear weapons stockpile witnessed a marginal increase in the last one year. “India was estimated to have a growing stockpile of about 190 nuclear weapons as of Jan 2026— a small increase from the previous year. These weapons were assigned to a maturing nuclear triad of aircraft, land-based missiles and SSBNs,” the SIPRI report, released on Monday, said.

The report estimates that India’s 190 nuclear warheads are up from 180 a year earlier, while Pakistan's stockpile remains unchanged at approximately 170 warheads. SIPRI also noted that India continues to modernise its nuclear capabilities and develop new long-range delivery systems.

SIPRI further said, “Pakistan continued to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile material in 2025, suggesting that its nuclear arsenal might expand over the coming decade”. “The brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 saw India attacking Pakistani air and missile bases that are likely to have nuclear-related roles, but both sides took steps to avoid escalation,” it added.

India follows the “no first use” policy when it comes to nuclear weapons. India maintains a limited but effective nuclear arsenal. The capability is designed purely to deter potential aggressors rather than engage in an arms race.

Global scenario of nuclear weapons:

At the start of 2026, nine states — the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — together possessed approximately 12,187 nuclear weapons, of which 9,745 were in military stockpiles and considered to be potentially operationally available, the report said. Overall, the number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline, but this is only due to the US and Russia “dismantling retired warheads,” the report said.

According to the report, the US remained by far the largest military spender in the world; its expenditure of $954 billion in 2025 (7.5% lower than in 2024) accounted for 33% of total global spending. China is the second largest military spender ($336 billion), while Russia stands at the third ($190 billion). Germany was the fourth largest military spender, and India was at the fifth spot, with an expenditure of $ 92.1 billion in 2025, an increase of 8.9% over the last year, according to data shared in the report.

“Taken together, the 15 largest military spenders accounted for 80 per cent of the world's military expenditure in 2025 (USD 2304 billion),” it said, noting that many of them were involved -- either directly or indirectly -- in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine in 2025.