India Deploys 12 Nuclear Warheads For First Time, Signalling Major Policy Shift: Report

New Delhi: In a major shift in India's nuclear weapons policy, New Delhi for the first time has deployed 12 nuclear warheads, as per the report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Notably, India maintains a policy where nuclear warheads and delivery systems are kept in separate storage.In its Yearbook 2026 released on Monday (June 8), the SIPRI reported that India now possesses 190 nuclear weapons, 10 more than a year earlier. As per the agency, out of these total 190, 12 are believed to be deployed. Notably, it is for the first time that the watchdog has reported that Of these, 12 are believed to be in active deployment, making it the first instance in which the global arms monitoring body has identified

a portion of India's nuclear arsenal as operationally deployed rather than fully held in reserve."It has long been assumed that India stores its nuclear warheads separate from its deployed launchers during peacetime," the report stated. However, India's increasing reliance on canister-launched missiles and sea-based deterrence missions indicates that it could shift towards "mating some of its warheads with their launchers in peacetime." As per the report, New Delhi will launch its fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine in 2027.Also Read: Desert, Secrecy and a Smiling Buddha: How India Secretly Became a Nuclear Power Twice "India was estimated to have a growing stockpile of about 190 nuclear weapons as of January 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 stated.For the unversed, India followed a ‘no first use’ policy regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

In its report released on June 8, the SIPRI stated that New Delhi "is increasingly focused on developing long-range weapons capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning also continues to be focused on India's long-standing rivalry with Pakistan."The findings also mention that India has hiked its defence expenditure to $92.1 billion in 2025, hitting an 8.9 percent increase in a year.

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The report, which provides an annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament, and international security, also mentioned India’s Operation Sindoor—launched to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack—and described the operation as “an unusually severe military crisis" between the two nuclear neighbours, India and Pakistan, in May 2025.