India, for the very first time has deployed 12 nuclear warheads in peacetime, according to the latest assessment by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This indicates a significant shift in India’s nuclear position.
The SIPRI, in its Yearbook 2026 states that out of India’s inventory of 190 nuclear weapons, 12 are “deployed warheads”. This means that such warheads are either placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces. However, SIPRI did not disclose how it arrived at the figure of 12 nuclear warheads in a deployed condition.
The findings from SIPRI represent a departure from India’s long-time practice of storing nuclear warheads separately from delivery systems such as ballistic missiles during peacetime.
In the latest report, it has highlighted that India has 178 stored warheads and 12 deployed warheads, bringing its total military stockpile to 190 warheads as of January 2026.
In the 2024 and 2025 editions of the SIPRI Yearbook, it didn’t list any Indian nuclear warheads in the deployed category. India’s neighbouring country China had 24 deployed nuclear warheads, while its total inventory increased from 500 in 2024 to more than 600 in 2026. Pakistan has around 170 nuclear warheads in its stockpile.
Since August 2024, India has operationalised two nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, INS Arighaat and INS Aridaman.
The report stated that, Russia and the USA together possess around 83 per cent of all stockpiled nuclear warheads (i.e. usable warheads).
