Weapons of War- Nuclear weapons in India

India has conflicts with China and Pakistan; and being one of the two countries that are predicted to be economic giants, it has had to watch its back for countries interested in standing in the way of its journey towards economic glory. Many countries believe that showing off ones power in the form of weapons of mast destruction is the best way to scare of or warn other countries to not mess with you.
India's nuclear weapons program was started at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay In the mid-1950s. It is aimed at encouraging the civil use of nuclear technologies in exchange for assurances that they would not be used for military purposes. India's first nuclear test on May 18, 1974 was described by the Indian government as a "peaceful nuclear explosion."

It was only after 24 years that India resumed nuclear testing with a series of nuclear explosions known as "Operation Shatki." Prime Minister Vajpayee authorized the tests on April 8, 1998, two days after the Ghauri missile test-firing in Pakistan.

However, there is some controversy about these claims saying that the power of the weapon had been exaggerated by the Indian authorities in an attempt to mislead other countries. This lower yield raised skepticism about India's claims to have detonated a thermonuclear device, on which they had started work in the 1980s. This doubt has not been cleared.

More than knowing the power a country has at its finger tips, countries need to know how ready India would be to use these weapons in order to gauge if it is a threat to the world and its peace. According to a report in Jane's Intelligence Review, India's objective is to have a nuclear arsenal that is "strategically active but operationally dormant", which would allow India to maintain its retaliatory capability "within a matter of hours to weeks, while simultaneously exhibiting restraint." However, the report also maintains that, in the future, India may face increasing institutional pressure to shift its nuclear arsenal to a fully deployed status.

India has a declared nuclear no-first-use policy and is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on "credible minimum deterrence." In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the doctrine which asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of "retaliation only." The document also maintains that India "will not be the first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail" and that decisions to authorize the use of nuclear weapons would be made by the Prime Minister or his 'designated successor(s).'"

According to the NRDC, despite the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001-2002, India remains committed to its nuclear no-first-use policy. But an Indian foreign ministry official told Defense News in 2000 that a "'no-first-strike' policy does not mean India will not have a first-strike capability."