Porni Banerjee | ১৮ জুন ২০২৪ ১৭ : ৩৯Porni Banerjee

India has more nuclear weapons than Pakistan, whereas China has expanded its military arsenal from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 in January this year and it is expected to grow further, a report revealed on Monday by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank.

As analysed by SIPRI, nine nuclear-armed countries, including India, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, North Korea, Pakistan and Israel, continued to modernise their nuclear equipment and several countries deployed new nuclear-capable weapon systems last year.

The SIPRI report said that the US and Russia together possess a whopping 90 percent of all nuclear weapons, adding that the “stored” nuclear warheads India has stood at 172, as per January 2024, with Pakistan having 170.

India marginally increased its nuclear weapons in 2023. Both India and neigbouring Pakistan continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems in 2023. Russia is estimated to have deployed 36 more warheads with operational forces than in January 2023.

“While Pakistan remains the main focus of India’s nuclear deterrent, India appears to be placing growing emphasis on longer-range weapons, including those capable of reaching targets throughout China,” the report said.

The report further mentioned that India, North Korea and Pakistan have started following the footsteps of the US and Russia to deploy multiple warheads on ballistic missiles.

Speaking about China, Hans Kristensen of SIPRI noted that the country is expanding its nuclear equipment much faster than any other country.