New York, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India has offered to formalise its commitment not to use nuclear weapons first and not to use them against non-nuclear-weapon states through a multilateral legally binding agreement, reiterating its support for universal and verifiable nuclear disarmament.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, representing India at the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee in New York, outlined the country’s position on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and reducing nuclear risks on Monday.
Tewari said India remained committed to nuclear disarmament through a universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable framework, pursued through a step-by-step process. He recalled that India had presented proposals on the approach in a 2006 working paper to the First Committee and a 2007 document at the Conference on Disarmament.
Describing India’s nuclear posture as one of credible minimum deterrence, Tewari said the country continued to adhere to a No First Use policy and a commitment not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states.
“We are prepared to convert these undertakings into multilateral legal arrangements,” he said.
Tewari added that India’s nuclear capabilities were shaped by its security environment and were not directed against any specific country. He also reaffirmed India’s voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing.
He argued that legally binding assurances against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would reduce insecurity among non-nuclear-weapon states and help strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.
Addressing emerging risks, Tewari said decisions on the use of nuclear weapons should remain under human control, amid concerns about the integration of artificial intelligence into nuclear command-and-control systems.
He also highlighted India’s initiatives on reducing nuclear danger, including a resolution introduced in 1998 that calls for measures such as de-alerting nuclear weapons, and a proposal dating to 1992 for an international convention prohibiting their use or threat of use.
India, he said, remained committed to global nuclear disarmament and preventing nuclear materials and technologies from reaching terrorists and other non-state actors. Tewari added that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons did not create obligations for India.
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