The nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests conducted by India and Pakistan in the late 1990s have substantially altered the security environment, both in the region and globally. Examining the complexities, controversies and dynamics of this new strategic context, this study explores India's motivations for becoming a nuclear weapons state, its proposed nuclear and missile force structure, the nuclear doctrine that the BJP-led government seeks to develop, and the impact of a nuclear arms race on the country's economy. The authors also consider the prospects for regional and global arms control. At question is the claim of many Indian strategists that stability in the region is better served under conditions of declared - rather than covertly developed - nuclear weapons.