TUESDAY GLOBAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS INVENTORY 09 Nine nuclear-armed countries together possess 12,187 warheads, as per SIPRI Yearbook 2026. India has 190 warheads, up from 180 last year JUNE, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in UK 225 facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard US 5,042 FULL-SCALE WAR The renewed hostilities between Tel Aviv and Tehran raised concerns that West Asia could be plunged back into a full-scale war. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 J A V A R I A R A N A @ 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  NEW DELHI 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.  J8.00 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 warheads as of January 2026, up  from 180 a year earlier. With 1,796 warheads mated to launchers, Russia leads the deployment chart. China has deployed 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 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi 20 of 28 MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, seek separate group, pledge support to NDA P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE rebellion in Trinamool Congress (TMC) reached Parliament on Monday with a dissident camp led by Lok Sabha senior MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claiming that at least 20 of its 28 Lower House 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 meeting in Delhi. The twin revolts in the Bengal 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 that they had decided to write to Speaker Om Birla to declare their support for the NDA. The decision came after a string of meetings at Union minister Bhupender Yadav’s home, along with CM 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, Kalipada 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 that 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. P8 Nearly 20 TMC MPs, including me, have decided to support NDA. We’ve decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and formally support the NDA Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, rebel TMC 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 of India 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 Constitution 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 the differences within after the drubbing of the Trinamool Congress and DMK in the recent Assembly polls in West Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and others during the INDIA bloc meet | SAYANTAN GHOSH 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 one must bring everyone together with love and affection. R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi CELEBRATIONS marking the completion of 12 years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government commenced on Monday, with the BJP highlighting its achievements and key initiatives over the past decade. The events began with media interactions involving senior BJP leaders and prominent Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Piyush Goyal and party president Nitin Nabin. The party has planned a range of activities across the country, in the run- OTHER PLANS Other ambitious legislative proposals on the NDA’s to-do list include the One Nation, One Election and further electoral reforms up to the Monsoon session of Parliament, tentatively scheduled for July Speculation is rife . that the NDA may use the strengthened political environment to revive the delimitation bill during the session. The legislative proposal— intertwined with an amend- Shah chairs meet on Yamuna rejuvenation Home Minister Amit Shah on Moday chaired a meeting on the Yamuna rejuvenation and said cleaning the river is a resolve undertaken by PM Narendra Modi. He urged the govts of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to work towards cleaning the Yamuna on war-footing. P3 GEARING UP FOR ‘TWO-ANDA-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 ‘Consensual pre-marital sex no blot on character’ The Supreme Court has held that a consensual physical relationship between two unmarried adults cannot be treated as evidence of poor character, while restoring the selection of a constable candidate whose appointment had been cancelled over a case of a past relationship. P7 LONG PAST DEADLINE Govt weighs penalty on HAL over Tejas delays THE defence ministry is considering imposing penalties on state-run 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 due to HAL’s lack of progress, was finally held on Monday Defence Minis. ter Rajnath 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 CMD Ravi Kota and other senior officials. Sources told this newspaper that the financial penalty being 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 SP, Tejashwi Yadav from RJD, Omar Abdullah from NC, and Mehbooba Mufti from PDP, along with Left leaders. P7 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. The SIPRI also highlights India’s progress in multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology, say- ing that the Agni-V has demonstrated the capability to carry up to three nuclear warheads on a single missile. India is additionally developing hypersonic cruise missiles that may be dual-capable. The report reflects on last year’s India-Pakistan hostilities, describing them as the most significant military confrontation between the two countries in decades. POST-MALVIYA NAGAR TRAGEDY L-G proposes induction of Agniveers in fire dept buildings, misuse of fire licences and preparedness steps. LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR On fire safety enforcement Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Mon- following the Malviya Nagar day suggested inducting former hotel fire, the L-G said drives Agniveers to address staff against illegal buildings and lishortages in the Delhi Fire cence violations should be carService during a Disaster Man- ried out carefully so that ordiagement Authority nary citizens are not Monsoon meeting held after harassed. However, preparedness the Malviya Nagar he stressed that illetragedy that killed 22 The L-G on Monday gal construction and people. He said Agunauthorised land reviewed monsoon niveers could be used plotting must be preparedness and to fill operational vastopped quickly . called for extra After being incancies and help caution and strict formed that the fire strengthen the deimplementation of department had not partment quickly . desilting works to issued a single notice The meeting also stop waterlogging reviewed plans to in- during rainy season. so far, Sandhu expressed displeasure crease the number of fire stations to improve and directed the principal diemergency response. Sandhu rector of the Delhi Fire Service suggested that the MCD allow to take immediate action and citizens to upload photographs report to the offices of the L-G, of illegal construction through CM and the home minister. Special teams comprising its 311 app and portal. The meeting was attended by DMs, DCPs, MCD and DFS officCM Rekha Gupta, Home Minis- ers have been told to submit re. ter Ashish Sood, PWD Minister ports regularly The L-G warned Parvesh Sahib Singh and sen- that negligence to perform duior officials. Discussions fo- ties would affect appraisals. Hotel manager surrenders, held | P3 cused on action against illegal A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi Delimitation bill buzz amid NDA govt anniv events EXPRESS READ INDIAN ARMY China 620 PAGES 12 After Assembly, Oppn to write to CJI on SIR, TMC crumbles in ‘poll theft’, makes unity pitch LS with new bloc J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi North Korea 60 Pakistan India 170 190 ISRAEL AND IRAN TRADE STRIKES India may be mating N-warheads & launchers, says SIPRI Russia 5,420 France 370 Israel 90 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 Incidentally HAL has . , itself used the same provision against American engine maker GE Aerospace for delays in supplying F404 engines, 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. ment bill on women’s quota— 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 Pa rl i a m e n t c o n t i nu e s t o 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. The NDA is also improving its position in the Rajya Sabha. P7 COURT PULLS UP GOVT OVER GYMKHANA CLUB The High Court on Monday pulled up the Centre for its plans to take over the Gymkhana Club & Polo Ground, saying, “Delhi will choke.” | P3 From tenant to killer of a teacher: The trail of a well-planned murder N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi Thefts aboard trains WHAT appeared to be a crime of the moment is now being recast as a story of patience, preparation and a plan allegedly set in motion months earlier. Ramprashad Das, who, along with his wife, allegedly killed a Delhi University professor at her residence in an east Delhi housing society last week, had conducted recce of the area twice earlier this year before carrying out the crime, police said on Monday . Devosmita Paul, an assistant professor, was found murdered at her residence in Vasundhara Enclave on June 4. Police later arrested Ramprashad Das (42), his wife Banashree Das (36), and apprehended their minor son in connection with the case. Police said that Ramprashad, from West Bengal’s Bardhaman district who runs a sani- Ramprashad Das, who allegedly murdered DU assistant professor Devosmita Paul, reportedly confessed to his involvement in thefts aboard trains over several years. Police said he claimed to have stolen bags, watches and other valuables from passengers but had never been apprehended. tary goods shop, frequently travelled to Karol Bagh market to procure materials for his business. During visits in January and March, he a l l e g e d ly s u r ve ye d Paul’s residential society, entered the complex, reached her floor and identified potential escape routes before executing the murder. Investigators said the murder stemmed from a dispute over Paul’s ancestral property in Bardhaman, where Ramprashad had been a tenant since 2023. Initially, he rented the first floor of the house for `5,500 a month. He later took the ground floor as well for his sanitary goods business, with the total rent fixed at `11,500. Ramprashad told cops that he had spent `1.5 lakh on renovation of the house and wanted to buy the property. He made repeated requests to Paul to sell the house to him, but she asked him to vacate it, DCP (East) Rajeev Kumar said. Ramprashad asked her either to sell the property or allow his family to continue living there, arguing that they had invested money in renovations. Paul, however, told him that she planned to visit Bardhaman later this month to collect rent and expected him to vacate the premises thereafter. Ramprashad contacted her on WhatsApp on June 1 and travelled to Delhi with his wife and son on June 3, police said. CONTINUED ON P4