Global Nuclear Weapons Inventory Nine nuclear-armed countries together possess 12,187 warheads, as per SIPRI Yearbook 2026. India has 190 warheads, up from 180 last year UK 225 US 5,042 J a v a r i a Rana @ New Delhi India may have deployed 12 nuclear warheads with operational forces, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest report released on Monday . It is unusual for India to deploy nuclear warheads during peacetime. Last year’s report counted none. “It has long been assumed that India stores its nuclear warheads separate from deployed launchers during peacetime,” SPIRI noted in its 2026 Yearbook. The report noted that India may have started deploying a small number of nuclear warheads aboard a ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) conducting deterrence patrols, suggesting the posture is gradually shifting towards a more operational sea-based deterrent. India’s growing use of canisterised missiles and sea-based deterrence patrols suggests it “could be shifting in the direction of mating some of its warheads with their launchers in peacetime”, the report noted. SIPRI cautioned that the finding comes with “considerable uncertainty”. India’s total nuclear stockpile is estimated at 190 war- North Korea 60 Pakistan 170 BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l june 09, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION India may be mating N-warheads & launchers, says SIPRI Russia 5,420 France 370 Israel 90 heads as of January 2026, up from 180 a year earlier. With 1,796 warheads mated to launchers, Russia leads the deployment chart. China has de- India 190 China 620 ployed 24 of its 620 warheads, while Pakistan has deployed none of its 170 warheads. The report also noted that India is expected to field its fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine next year. The new submarine and the recently commissioned INS Aridhaman are significantly larger than their predecessors and can carry twice as many missile tubes, it noted. India’s planned S5-class programme could eventually see the country operating between six and eight SSBNs simultaneously, SIPRI noted in the report. CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Now, Trinamool Oppn to write to CJI on SIR, ‘poll theft’, makes unity pitch disintegrates in LS with new bloc p r ee t ha na i r @ New Delhi 20 of its 28 MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh, seek separate group, pledge support to NDA p r ee t ha na i r @ New Delhi THE rebellion in Trinamool Congress (TMC) reached Parliament on Monday with a dissident camp led by Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claiming that at least 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha members have decided to form a separate bloc and support the BJP-led NDA. Incidentally the latest blow to the TMC , came on a day when its chief Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee were attending the INDIA bloc meet in Delhi. The twin revolts in the assembly and Parliament plunged the party into its gravest crisis since its inception in 1998, with 58 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs already defying the party high command and backed expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition. Dastidar told reporters they had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla to declare their support for NDA. The decision came after a string of meetings at Union minister Bhupender Yadav’s home, along with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Sources said at least 13 of the rebel MPs attended the meetings at Yadav’s residence and one at another rebel MP, Satabdi Roy’s home. The rebels also claimed the support of six more MPs. Speculation is rife that Yusuf Pathan will also shift to the rebel camp. A photograph from the meeting circulating online showed Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray along with MPs Abu , Taher, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty Kali, pada Soren, Jagadish Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar, and Satabdi Roy Ray resigned from the Rajya Sabha . and from the party’s primary membership on Monday and issued a statement accusing the TMC of a “15-year anarchical rule”. A TMC leader said the party had communicated its decision to remove Dastidar as chief whip and appoint Kalyan Banerjee to the Lok Sabha Secretariat through an official letter dated May 20, signed by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Indian army Gearing up for ‘two-and-a-half front challenge’ Army Chief Gen Dwivedi lists the challenges before India in an interview with Javaria Rana, adding: “The future warrior will be a human amplified by tech, not replaced by it” | P7 Nearly 20 TMC MPs, including me, have decided to support the NDA. We have decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and formally support the NDA Kakoli Ghosh, rebel MP New group has numbers TMC currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs, with one vacancy. The support of 20 MPs will comfortably cross the twothirds threshold (19) needed for protection under the anti-defection law, making it difficult for the leadership to seek disqualification of the dissidents Moitra lashes out at rebels Party MP Mahua Moitra launched a blistering attack on the rebels, accusing them of betraying the mandate on which they were elected. “MPs won in 2024 on TMC ticket. Mandate was NOT for NDA,” she said in her post on X CALLING for greater unity against the BJP the Opposition , INDIA bloc members on Monday unanimously decided to demand Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s immediate resignation over the NEET-CBSE paper leak row and write to the Chief Justice on alleged anomalies in the SIR exercise and allegations of ‘vote theft’. Leaders of 22 Opposition parties and Independent MP Kapil Sibal were part of the deliberations that lasted for more than 150 minutes at the Consti- Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and others during the INDIA bloc meet | Sayantan Ghosh tution Club in New Delhi. The DMK, a key INDIA bloc constituent, was conspicuous by its absence, while the AAP had distanced itself from the grouping. The deliberations began with a call to forge unity and rework the Opposition strategy to take on the BJP, while ironing out Cabinet clears `1.5K cr Tourism Land Bank Scheme, `500 cr waterfront plan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar In a bid to give a push to the tourism and hospitality sector, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday approved the Land Bank for Hospitality Infrastructure Scheme for providing land to hotels and tourism-led projects. Announcing the decision in the post-cabinet briefing, chief secretary Anu Garg said around 5,500 acres of government and private land will be identified and developed across major tourist destinations including Chilika lake, Konark Sun temple, Puri, Dhauli, Hirakud dam, Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Similipal National Park, Bhitarkanika National Park, Daringbadi, Deomali, Buddhist circuit, Jiranga, Talsari and Tampara-Aryapalli among others. The initiative seeks to create a dedicated tourism land bank to facilitate large-scale investments in the hospitality sector and support tourism-led economic growth. It will be implemented from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an annual allocation of `300 crore and a total estimated A gruesome double murder rocked Sambalpur district where a mother and daughter duo was killed in cold blood in their sleep allegedly by their neighbour who called the police after committing the chilling crime early on Tuesday morning. The incident took place in Giripali’s Khadiapada under Sason police limits. Accused Ajay Pradhan, in his 20s, was present at the crime scene when police arrived. He used a bicycle chain crank to assault the CM Mohan Charan Majhi chairing the cabinet meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan | Express financial implication of `1,500 crore. “The tourism land bank will provide investors with infrastructure-ready land parcels, enabling faster development of hotels, resorts, convention centres, eco-tourism projects and wellness retreats,” she said. Garg said the scheme has been designed to support the growth of emerging tourism destinations and create new economic opportunities in rural and remote areas. The government expects the initiative to generate employment, strengthen local economies and position Odisha among Asia’s leading eco-cultural tourism destinations, she added. The cabinet also approved the Waterfront Development Scheme, which will be implemented by the Housing and Urban Development department with a total outlay of `500 crore over five years. The scheme aims to rejuvenate riverfronts and urban water bodies in selected cities and transform them into environmentally-sustainable and accessible public spaces. It will be implemented in coordination with development authorities and urban local bodies. The chief secretary said that the initiative will help restore river ecosystems, improve urban livability, promote tourism and cultural activities, conserve local heritage and strengthen climate resilience through better flood management infrastructure. The scheme also emphasises social inclusion by creating safe and accessible public spaces for all sections. two women. The deceased were identified as Urkuli Patra (60) and her daughter Lilima Jauda (35). Locals said Lilima, though, was married had been residing at her parental home for the last several years. According to police, the two were sleeping on their cots in the front yard of their house due to the prevailing heat when they were attacked at around 2 am. Both women died on the spot. Police received a call on the emergency number 112 and when a team reached the spot, the accused was still there. Police seized the bodies for postmortem and d e t a i n e d P r a d h a n fo r interrogation. While police remained tightlipped, past enmity is being seen as motive behind the crime. Suspicion of witchcraft is not being ruled out either, source said. A scientific team visited the crime scene and collected Continued on P5 evidence.  Long past deadline Govt weighs penalty on HAL over Tejas delays J a v a r i a Rana @ New Delhi The defence ministry is considering imposing penalties on staterun Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) over the continued delay in delivering the Tejas Mk1A fighter jet to the Indian Air Force (IAF), sources said. The programme is already more than two years behind its original deadline. The programme review, itself delayed by a month owing to HAL’s lack of progress, was finally held on Monday Defence Minister Ra. jnath Singh chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Chief of Defence Staff General N S Raja Subramani, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, HAL Chairman and Managing Director Ravi Kota and other senior officials. Sources in the defence establishment told this newspaper that the financial penalty being considered against HAL is not punitive in the extraordinary sense, but stems from a standard contractual clause that can be invoked in cases of delayed delivery . one must bring everyone together with love and affection. Akhilesh Yadav, who spoke about “vote chori” and said the Bengal polls were “robbed”, appealed to the Congress to show a big heart and back strong regional parties. The meeting was attended by Shiv Sena-UBT’s Uddhav Thackeray and JMM’s Hemant , Soren joined virtually Others . include Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav from the SP, Tejashwi Yadav from the RJD, Omar Abdullah from NC, and Mehbooba Mufti from the PDP along with Left leaders. , Amid NDA govt anniv events, buzz on delimitation bill Raje s h K uma r Thaku r @ New Delhi Man kills mother-daughter duo, calls cops M AYA N K B H U S A N PA N I @ Sambalpur the differences within after the drubbing of the Trinamool Congress and DMK in the recent Assembly polls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “A letter will be sent to the CJI soon on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, ‘vote loot’, and ‘stealing of elections’.” It was also agreed to demand the immediate resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan,” he said. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi stressed unity and said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chairs Tejas Mk1A programme review meeting | PTI Incidentally HAL has itself used , the same provision against American engine maker GE Aerospace for delays in supplying F404 en- gines, a critical bottleneck in the programme. GE has delivered far fewer engines than scheduled, with only six currently available with HAL. Moreover, the IAF has already granted certain relaxations and is reportedly considering further concessions to facilitate early induction. As reported earlier, a key reason for the delay has been the integration of the AESA radar with the aircraft’s electronic warfare suite and onboard mission systems. Celebrations marking the completion of 12 years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA commenced on Monday, with the BJP highlighting the government’s achievements and its key initiatives over the past decade. The events began with a series of media interactions involving senior BJP leaders and prominent Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Other plans Ashwini Vaishnaw, Piyush Goyal and Ni- Other ambitious tin Nabin. The party has planned a range legislative proposals of activities across the country, in the run- on the NDA’s to-do list up to the Monsoon session of Parliament, include the One tentatively scheduled for July Speculation Nation, One Election . is rife that the NDA may use the strength- (ONOE) and further ened political environment to revive the electoral reforms delimitation bill during the session. The legislative proposal — intertwined with an amendment bill on women’s reservation — seeks to redraw parliamentary and assembly constituencies and potentially increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. It was defeated on the floor of the Lok Sabha on April 17. However, the NDA appears increasingly confident about its prospects, as its position in Parliament continues to strengthen. The latest implosion within the parliamentary party of the Trinamool Congress with 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs led by senior leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar seeking to form a separate bloc and aligning themselves with the NDA, takes the ruling coalition closer to the 352 votes required in April for a supermajority to get the delimitation bill passed. The NDA fell short in April, as it just had 298. It is also improving its position in the Rajya Sabha.