- By Kamakshi Bishnoi
- Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India has increased its nuclear warheads to around 190, surpassing the nuclear warheads of its neighbour, Pakistan, which possesses 170 warheads, according to the revelations made in the recently published Yearbook by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The yearly yearbook assesses global military expenditure, arms transfers, nuclear forces and important security events that took place during 2025. It noted that nuclear modernisation is continuing in the sub-continent of South Asia and states that there are around 20 more nuclear warheads than its rival in Pakistan.
New Delhi's modernisation programme, the SIPRI Yearbook 2026 released on June 8, noted, "is increasingly focused on developing long-range weapons capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning also continues to be focused on India's long-standing rivalry with Pakistan."
ALSO READ: Fire Breaks Out On Cargo Vessel With 24 Indians On Board; Navy Roped In To Ensure Safety
The institute also identified the escalating relevance of modern military technologies in the region, highlighting the extent to which nuclear modernisation, long-range missiles, armed drones, AI-based platforms, and cyber technologies impact strategic rivalry in South Asia.
Defence Spending Widens
According to the report, the defence spending gap between the two neighbours has also widened over time. India stood fifth in the world's biggest spenders, doling out USD 92.1 billion toward defence spending in 2025, a rise of 8.9 per cent compared to its defence expenditure in the last year. Pakistan, on the other hand, did not make it to the list of the top 15 biggest defence spenders.
SIPRI has also identified as many as 162 recipient countries of the most significant weapons in 2021-25. 5 major importing states, Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, received 35 per cent of the total arms imports during this period.
As per the report. India is to be the second biggest importer of major weapons among the rest of the world from 2021 to 2025, with a share of 8.2 per cent in total imports, whereas Pakistan stood fifth with a 4.2 per cent share in the same period.
According to the report, India imported nearly twice the volume of major arms compared to Pakistan during the five years. India has deployed around 12 warheads, while 178 remain stored.
Global Nuclear Stockpile Remains Massive
By the beginning of 2026, the US, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel combined had about 12,187 nuclear weapons. This included 9745 warheads held in the arsenals, potentially available for operational use, of which 4012 were actually deployed with operational forces.
Of this warhead number, approximately just over half were presumed to be kept in a high state of operational alert on ballistic missiles (2100-2200 warheads), the report stated.
"Overall, the number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline, but this is only due to the USA and Russia dismantling retired warheads. Notably, the number of warheads being dismantled annually appears to be decreasing, and it seems likely that the rate at which retired warheads are dismantled will soon be outpaced by the rate at which new warheads enter global stockpiles," SIPRI said.
Operation Sindoor Mentioned In Report
The yearbook also referred to heightened tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack. It cited India's military response, Operation Sindoor, as a major development in regional security dynamics.
Describing the episode, SIPRI termed it an “unusually severe military crisis" between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and noted that cyber operations were integrated into an active military conflict for the first time during the confrontation.