India on Thursday became the 138th country in the world to subscribe to an international code of conduct against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. The Hague Code of Conduct, or HCoC, against Ballistic Missile Proliferation is a voluntary, not legally binding, international confidence-building and transparency initiative aimed at preventing the proliferation of ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction, reported The Indian Express.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that India will not scrap its Agni missile programme. “Our national security interest will not be impacted in any manner, whatsoever, by joining HCoC,” MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. “India’s joining the Code signals our readiness to further strengthen global non-proliferation objectives,” he added.