{"id":348897,"date":"2025-10-29T19:11:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=348897"},"modified":"2025-10-29T19:13:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:43:43","slug":"nuclear-disarmament-indias-stance-explained-pointwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/nuclear-disarmament-indias-stance-explained-pointwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear Disarmament &#038; India\u2019s Stance &#8211; Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released its yearbook. The Report has highlighted some worrying trends in international security in the past year. The expected rise of the global nuclear arsenal was the chief cause of concern among SIPRI experts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The data, primarily compiled in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIPRI Yearbook 2025<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlights a significant and dangerous shift: <\/span><b>the post-Cold War trend of nuclear disarmament has stopped, replaced by a new era of modernization and transparency collapse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Considering this scenario, it is imperative countries come forward and take prudent steps in order to move towards Nuclear Disarmament.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%; text-align: center;\"><strong>Table of Content\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><a href=\"#h1\">About Nuclear Weapons<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h2\">What are the key findings of the SIPRI Report 2025?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h3\">Why do countries value Nuclear Weapons?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h4\">What is the need for Nuclear Disarmament?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h5\">What steps have been taken to prevent Nuclear Proliferation?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h6\">What is India\u2019s Nuclear Doctrine?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h7\">What is India&#8217;s Stance on Nuclear Disarmament?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#h8\">What lies ahead?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h1\"><\/a>About Nuclear Weapons:<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A nuclear weapon is a device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs. Fusion weapons are also referred to as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly, hydrogen bombs. Nuclear weapons produce enormous explosive energy. For example, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, contained only about 64 kg (140 pounds) of highly enriched uranium. However, it released energy equaling about 15 kilotons (1000 tons) of chemical explosive. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h2\"><\/a>What are the key findings of the SIPRI Report 2025?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The total estimated global nuclear warheads as of January 2025 stands at 12,241, with 9,614 warheads in military stockpiles and 3,912 deployed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s arsenal has grown from 172 (2024) to 180 warheads, which now surpasses Pakistan\u2019s 170. China\u2019s stockpile expanded fastest, reaching 600 warheads, with around 24 deployed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All nine nuclear-armed states\u2014US, Russia, France, UK, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea\u2014continued modernization and expansion of their nuclear delivery systems and warheads in 2024. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report highlights a &#8220;crisis&#8221; in global arms control regimes: New START\u2014the last major US-Russia nuclear treaty\u2014remains in force only until 2026, with no sign of renewal.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIPRI warns of increased instability due to rapid advances in AI, cyber capabilities, space assets, missile defense, and quantum technologies. These technologies create new domains of arms races and complicate traditional arms control mechanisms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_348898\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-348898\" style=\"width: 953px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-348898 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-29-185503.png?resize=750%2C452&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"SIPRI\" width=\"750\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-29-185503.png?w=953&amp;ssl=1 953w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-29-185503.png?resize=300%2C181&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-29-185503.png?resize=768%2C463&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-348898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: SIPRI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h3\"><\/a>Why do countries value Nuclear Weapons?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Symbol of modernization: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding nuclear weapons to the arsenal shows that the military is getting prepared for future emergencies and attaining modern capabilities. Countries are focusing on development of newer and more efficient nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Deterrence Effect<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nuclear weapons create a deterrence effect even on strong military powers. For instance, many experts are saying that Russia wouldn\u2019t have invaded Ukraine if the latter hadn&#8217;t given up nuclear weapons in early 1990s.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Regional Superiority<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Any country which desires to establish a steady control over its region wishes to obtain\/retain control of nuclear weapons. For instance, the U.S exercises substantial control over the American continent due to its huge arsenal of nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Permanent Membership of UNSC<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Permanent members enjoy veto over the decisions of the UN and in a way controls the world affairs. All of them possess a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons which was a crucial factor kept in mind while offering them a permanent seat in UNSC.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h4\"><\/a>What is the need for Nuclear Disarmament?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Huge Magnitude of Destruction<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Nuclear Explosion at Hiroshima released energy equaling about 15 kilotons of chemical explosive. The blast immediately produced<\/span><b> a strong shock wave, enormous amounts of heat, and lethal ionizing radiation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The enormous toll in destruction, death, injury, and sickness produced by the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was on a scale never before produced by any single weapon.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Against the Rules of War<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nuclear Weapons can\u2019t strictly obey the rule of differentiating between combatants and civilians. Even if it is used over the military, then also radiation can impact nearby civilian populations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><b>Sovereign Equality: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The destruction of nuclear weapons is imperative to truly realize the principle of sovereign equality of nations. Otherwise the world would remain divided between nuclear haves and have nots.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>Fake Triggers: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per recent reports, the U.S and Russia have a sufficient nuclear arsenal to completely destroy the earth. In such a scenario, any fake trigger using misinformation or fake news can destroy the very existence of human beings from earth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Non state Actors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The growing recruitment of educated youth in terrorist organizations raises a fear that they may attain nuclear prowess in future. This situation can be disastrous and bring a state of anarchy as terrorists have no regard to international law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h5\"><\/a>What steps have been taken to prevent Nuclear Proliferation?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), 1968:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was put forward by the USA, UK and USSR. It was signed in 1968 and came into force in 1970. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The treaty has 3 pillars: <\/span>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-alpha;\">\n<li><b>Non-proliferation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) pledge not to transfer nuclear weapons and technology and Non-nuclear Weapon States pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Disarmament<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: All parties to pursue good-faith negotiations on effective measures to control nuclear arms race, and to general and complete disarmament. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Treaty recognizes the right of all Parties to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India considers the treaty discriminatory as it creates a club of &#8216;<\/span><b>nuclear haves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216; and a larger group of &#8216;<\/span><b>nuclear have-nots<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216; by restricting the legal possession of nuclear weapons to those states that tested them before 1967. India hasn&#8217;t signed the treaty. Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan are other non-signatory countries. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, 2017: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It prohibits and makes it illegal to possess, use, produce, transfer, acquire, stockpile or deploy nuclear weapons. States are also prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices. It came into force in 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Export Control Groupings: Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regimes (MTCR) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are some of the nuclear export control groupings. These ensure that nuclear fuel export doesn\u2019t result in nuclear weapons development.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Conference on Disarmament<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (CD): <\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at Geneva. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Conference was first established in 1979 as the Committee on Disarmament. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was renamed as the Conference on Disarmament in 1984. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Conference succeeded three other disarmament-related bodies: <\/span>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-alpha;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1960)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1962\u201368)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (1969\u201378)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h6\"><\/a>What is India\u2019s Nuclear Doctrine?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrence. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A &#8216;No First Use&#8217; policy i.e. nuclear weapons to be used only in case of any nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian forces anywhere. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Non use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuclear retaliatory attacks to be authorised only by civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India may retaliate with nuclear weapons to retaliate against attacks\u00a0 with biological or chemical weapons. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strict controls on export of nuclear and missile related materials and technologies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapon free world.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h7\"><\/a>What is India&#8217;s Stance on Nuclear Disarmament?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is fully committed to complete Nuclear Disarmament. India supports complete disarmament within a specified timeframe which distinguishes its stance from Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) which have an ambiguous stand regarding timeline for disarmament.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India also insists that disarmament must be &#8216;non-discriminatory&#8217; and pursued &#8216;on the basis of equality&#8217; i.e., there must be no discriminatory provisions in favor of NWS as is the case with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT calls for ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons but hasn&#8217;t put a timeframe for the same. India calls for complete disarmament despite being a non-signatory of the NPT.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><b><a id=\"h8\"><\/a>What lies ahead?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recent geopolitical events transpiring around the world in practically all regions have made the global security climate more unstable. It is further aided by actions of authoritarian leaders of not just non-democratic systems but also of strongmen leaders of democratic systems. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two largest nuclear weapons holding states need to take on a more engaging role in the international arena. SIPRI\u2019s yearbook should force the Governments to look critically at how the global disarmament project seems to be going. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from this, clear and constant communication between Nuclear weapon states is desired in order to avoid the usage of a nuclear weapon based on fake news or misinformation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Conclusion: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The nations must come forward and prepare a road map for a gradual phase down of nuclear weapons. It is sine qua non for long term well being of humankind keeping in mind the saying of <\/span><b>Albert Einstein<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 60px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 60px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 100%; height: 60px;\"><strong>UPSC GS-2: International Relations<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sipri.org\/yearbook\/2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SIPRI<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released its yearbook. The Report has highlighted some worrying trends in international security in the past year. The expected rise of the global nuclear arsenal was the chief cause of concern among SIPRI experts.\u00a0 The data, primarily compiled in the SIPRI Yearbook 2025, highlights a significant and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/nuclear-disarmament-indias-stance-explained-pointwise\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Nuclear Disarmament &#038; India\u2019s Stance &#8211; Explained Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348897\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}