{"id":107605,"date":"2026-06-10T22:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=107605"},"modified":"2026-06-10T22:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:25:12","slug":"sipri-yearbook-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sipri-yearbook-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"SIPRI Yearbook 2026, India\u2019s Nuclear Modernisation and Defence Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its Yearbook 2026 (June 2026), highlighting major global and regional security trends. For India, the report is significant due to findings on nuclear warhead increase, defence expenditure, arms imports, and India\u2013Pakistan conflict (Operation Sindoor 2025).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About India\u2019s Nuclear Arsenal<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s nuclear stockpile is estimated to have increased to <\/span><b>around 190 warheads by early 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, indicating a modest but steady expansion.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The focus of India\u2019s nuclear modernisation is <\/span><b>shifting towards longer-range missiles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, particularly aimed at strengthening deterrence against China, while maintaining strategic balance with Pakistan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India continues to <\/span><b>develop and improve diverse nuclear delivery systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including <\/span><b>land-based, air-based, and sea-based platforms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to ensure a credible second-strike capability.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The overall approach reflects India\u2019s continued policy of credible <\/span><b>minimum deterrence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, adapted to changing regional threats.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is not a signatory to the <\/span><b>Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which it views as discriminatory. Instead, India has built its nuclear doctrine around three pillars:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>No First Use (NFU)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: India will not use nuclear weapons first in any conflict.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Credible Minimum Deterrence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: India maintains only as many weapons as necessary to deter adversaries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Massive Retaliation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Any nuclear attack on India will invite a devastating response.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, some strategic analysts argue that India\u2019s quiet shift towards longer-range, more survivable systems (including the development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles) suggests an evolving doctrine, even if official policy remains unchanged.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>India\u2013Pakistan Conflict: Operation Sindoor (2025)<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIPRI describes the May 2025 India\u2013Pakistan confrontation <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/operation-sindoor\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Operation Sindoor<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as an \u201cunusually severe military crisis\u201d between two nuclear-armed states.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the conflict, India reportedly struck Pakistani air and missile bases, some of which may have had nuclear-related roles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite escalation, both sides reportedly took steps to prevent full-scale war, showing that nuclear deterrence continued to act as a stabilising factor.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The crisis highlights the fragile nature of peace in South Asia and the risk of escalation between nuclear neighbours.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>New Dimension of Warfare: Cyber Operations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2025 conflict marked the first known integration of cyber operations into active military conflict between India and Pakistan.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This reflects the growing use of <\/span><b>hybrid warfare<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where cyber tools are combined with conventional military actions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It shows how modern conflicts are no longer limited to traditional battlefields but extend into digital and technological domains.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Defence Expenditure<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India\u2019s military expenditure is estimated at $92.1 billion in 2025<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an <\/span><b>increase of 8.9%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over the previous year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India remains the fifth-largest military spender in the world<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, after the United States, China, Russia, and Germany.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rising expenditure reflects continued focus on modernisation, procurement of advanced weapons, and strengthening defence capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>India in Global Arms Imports<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India is the second-largest importer of major arms globally <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during 2021-25.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It accounts for 8.2% of global arms imports, highlighting continued dependence on foreign defence technology.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Major importers globally include <\/span><b>Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Global Nuclear Context<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The nine nuclear-armed countries collectively hold <\/span><b>about 12,187 nuclear warheads<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as of early 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around <\/span><b>9,745 warheads<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are in military stockpiles, ready for <\/span><b>potential use.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While global stockpiles are slowly declining due to dismantlement by the US and Russia, the pace of reduction is slowing due to ongoing modernisation by all nuclear states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>SIPRI<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an <\/span><b>independent international research<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> institute based in Stockholm, Sweden, established in <\/span><b>1966<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It conducts <\/span><b>research on global security, armaments, arms control, disarmament, and conflict trends<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with a focus on evidence-based policy analysis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIPRI is widely regarded as one of the most credible global sources of data on military expenditure, nuclear arsenals, arms transfers, and global security trends.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It publishes an annual SIPRI Yearbook, which provides a comprehensive assessment of global armaments, disarmament efforts, and international security developments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The institute also maintains key global databases on military spending, arms trade, and nuclear forces, which are frequently used by governments, researchers, and international organisations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIPRI plays an important role in informing global disarmament debates and supporting transparency in international security affairs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read about key insights from SIPRI Yearbook 2026 on India\u2019s nuclear stockpile, defence modernisation, military expenditure, and global security trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":107601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[8064],"class_list":{"0":"post-107605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-sipri-yearbook-2026","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107606,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107605\/revisions\/107606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}