The May 1998 Shakti-series tests marked India`s emergence as a nuclear weapons state. These tests faced initial global resistance, but over time, this opposition gave way to understanding and reconciliation. India actively engaged with the international community to explain the security rationale behind its nuclear weaponization. The existing nuclear world order, anchored in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, did not adequately address India’s security concerns. To reinforce its commitment to responsible nuclear behaviour, India undertook measures to demonstrate restraint and reliability.

This book examines India’s nuclear journey over 25 years. It explores the evolution of India’s nuclear policy, dispelling myths surrounding its nuclear weapons programmme and highlighting the diplomatic efforts that led to its gradual integration into the global nuclear order. Over time, the international non-proliferation regime has developed a constructive relationship with India, recognizing its nuclear force as a security necessity rather than a tool for power projection or intimidation.

The book also delves into India’s nuclear doctrine, its confidence-building measures—both self-initiated and those proposed by global civil society—and its participation in global nuclear governance. Despite its nuclear weapons programme, India has remained committed to the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, emerging as a key player in global nuclear research and development. While nuclear disarmament remains a distant goal, it continues to be a fundamental aspiration for nuclear India.

Dr Rajiv Nayan is Senior Research Associate at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. He has been working with the Institute since 1993, where he specialises in international relations, security issues, especially the politics of nuclear disarmament, export control, non-proliferation, and arms control. He was Visiting Research Fellow at Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Tokyo, where he published his monograph Non-Proliferation Issues in South Asia. He was also Senior Researcher at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King`s College, London and Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Center on International Cooperation (CIC), New York University. Dr Nayan has published books as well as papers in academic journals and as chapters in books. His single-authored book Global Strategic Trade Management has been published by Springer in 2019. His edited book The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and India was published by Routledge in 2012.