An Agni-4 missile seen at India’s Republic Day military parade in January 2012. India operates a full nuclear triad, although it maintains a “no first use” nuclear policy. (Indian Ministry of Defence)

How India Is Becoming a Nuclear Weapons Powerhouse

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India’s nuclear arsenal has always been modest—large enough to deter China and Pakistan from a first strike, and not larger—but the country is increasingly investing in nuclear modernization.

India first achieved nuclear weapons capability in 1974, with the “Smiling Buddha” underground nuclear test at its Pokhran Test Range. The test was controversial, in part because India had acquired the nuclear materials used in the bomb through a program intended for peaceful nuclear use. Then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi justified the use by describing the test as a “peaceful nuclear explosion”—seemingly a contradiction in terms.

Today, more than 50 years after its first test, India maintains a full nuclear triad complete with land, air, and sea delivery systems. Under a doctrine of No First Use (NFU), New Delhi employs a strategy of credible minimum deterrence—with a force designed not to fight a protracted nuclear war, but to guarantee retaliation and prevent........

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