[Note: Here will just discuss the background for India's nuclear policy you will learn about India's nuclear policy in detail in security issues sub part of G.S. paper III].

Nehru had always maintained his strong faith in Science and Technology for rapid building of modern India. A significant component of his industrialisation plans was the nuclear programme initiated in the late 1940s, under the guidance of Homi J. Bhabha. The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was first setup in August 1948 in the Department of Scientific Research, which was created a few months earlier in June 1948. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was setup on August 3, 1954 under the direct charge of the Prime Minister through a Presidential Order. Subsequently, in accordance with a Government Resolution dated March 1, 1958, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was established in the Department of Atomic Energy. India wanted to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Nehru was always against the use of nuclear weapons, so he pleaded to all the superpowers for complete nuclear disarmament. However, as a pragmatic approach he never discarded the development of nuclear technology.

In 1974, India under the leadership of Indira Gandhi conducted its first nuclear tests. India termed it as peaceful explosion and argued that it was committed to the policy of using nuclear power only for peaceful purposes. Earlier the five permanent members of UNSC U.S., U.S.S.R., France, U.K. and China , who had acquired nuclear weapons capabilitytried to impose Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT)in 1968 on the rest of the world. India considered such move as discriminatory and refused to adhere to it. India always maintained that treaties like NPT was selectively applicable to the non-nuclear powers and legitimized the monopoly of the Five Nuclear weapon holding powers.

In 1998, India again conducted a series of nuclear test, displaying its capacity to use nuclear & energy for military purposes. After some time, Pak too conducted such test . Unhappy with moves of both India and Pakistan, International community imposed harsh sanctions, which were later waived when India assured no first use of nuclear weapon and maintained its stand of peaceful use nuclear energy and reiterated its commitment to global verifiable and non- discriminatory nuclear disarmament leading to a nuclear weapon free world.