---
title: "Nuclear Command Authority (India): Structure"
description: "India's Nuclear Command Authority is the PM-led body that alone can order nuclear use. See its two-council structure, the SFC chain, and the 2003 doctrine."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/nuclear-command-authority-india"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- India's Nuclear Command Authority is the apex body, chaired by the Prime Minister, that authorises and controls the deployment and use of the country's nuclear weapons.
- Who can order the use of nuclear weapons in India?
- What is the difference between the NCA and the Strategic Forces Command?
- When was India's Nuclear Command Authority established?
- Does India's no-first-use policy bind the NCA absolutely?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 4 January 2003

   India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) was formally constituted on , when the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) reviewed the nuclear command-and-control a…

2. 13 May 1998

   The decision followed India's transition to an overt nuclear-weapon state after the Pokhran-II tests of 11 and , conducted under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee gov…

3. 17 August 1999

   The Draft Report of the National Security Advisory Board on Indian Nuclear Doctrine of supplied the intellectual scaffolding, and the 4 January 2003 press r…

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In November 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that INS Arihant had completed its first deterrence patrol, operationalising the sea-based leg under the Nuclear Command Authority's Strategic Forces Command.

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