India inducts indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant quietly, completes nuclear triad

India’s indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant was reportedly commissioned into service in August, completing India’s nuclear triad, media reports said on Tuesday. 

The media reports daily quoted defence sources as saying that INS Arihant was formally commissioned by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba in August.

Sources added that in a bid to maintain secrecy, it is not being referred to as INS Arihant.

After being inducted, the submarine completes India's nuclear triad, giving it the capability to respond to nuclear strikes from sea, land and air-based systems.

INS Arihant gives second-strike capability to India, which has a clearly declared policy of "no first-use" of nuclear weapons.

INS Arihant is India's first indigenous nuclear submarine, and the lead ship of Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines launched in 2009.

The submarine's design is based on the Russian Akula-1 class submarines and its 83 MW pressurised water reactor has been built with significant Russian assistance.

Nuclear submarines have the capability to stay out at sea longer, and don't need to surface for a long duration.

Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to come up to the surface at regular intervals for charging their batteries.