Consider the following statements : 1. India has a published nuclear doctrine. 2. The doctrine advocates no- first-use policy. 3. The authority to release nuclear weapons for use resides in the person of the President of India. Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

India's nuclear doctrine is a published and formal document. Following the 1998 tests, a draft was released in 1999 [t1, t6], and the official doctrine was formally announced by the Government of India on January 4, 2003 [t3, t5]. Statement 1 is correct. The doctrine explicitly advocates a 'No First Use' (NFU) policy, stating that nuclear weapons are for deterrence and will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or forces [c1, t2, t3]. Statement 2 is correct. Regarding the command authority, the doctrine specifies that the power to authorize the use of nuclear weapons resides with the Political Council of the National Command Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister of India, not the President [t2, t4, t5]. Therefore, Statement 3 is incorrect, making option 2 the correct choice.

Sources

1. [1] Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: Indi External Relations > Fast Forward India's Nuclear Programme > p. 69
2. [2] https://www.orfonline.org/public/uploads/posts/pdf/20230913184622.pdf