In an era when the world grapples with climate change, economic uncertainties and the urgent need for global cooperation, India while accelerating its nuclear ambitions has expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2024 and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems, according to a report by a global think-tank.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) disclosed this in its annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security in SIPRI Yearbook 2025.

Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12,241 warheads in January 2025, about 9,614 were in “military stockpiles for potential use”, it claimed.

“India’s new ‘canisterised’ missiles, which can be transported with mated warheads, may be capable of carrying nuclear warheads during peacetime, and possibly even multiple warheads on each missile, once they become operational,” the think-tank claimed.

The statement on the release of its yearbook also makes a reference to the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan.

The four-day military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.

In early 2025 tensions between India and Pakistan briefly spilled over into armed conflict, it said.

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