India first declared itself a nuclear power under a BJP Prime Minister in 1999. To judge from
the current BJP manifesto, Modi’s assumption of power should see a new effort to frame nuclear policies for India in the 21st century. The manifesto says: “The strategic gains acquired by India during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime on the nuclear programme have been frittered away by the Congress. Our emphasis was, and remains on, beginning of a new thrust on framing policies that would serve India’s national interest in the 21st century.” The party in government will “study in detail India’s nuclear doctrine, and revise and update it, to make it relevant to challenges of current times”, “maintain a credible minimum deterrent that is in tune with changing geostatic realities”, and “invest in India’s indigenous Thorium Technology”.