Fact Check: India not granted veto power or permanent membership at UNSC

India had been vying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the past several years, being the world’s largest democracy and also due to its contributions to peacekeeping missions, and growing global influence. PM Modi addressed a two-day summit at the 79^th UN General Assembly session in New York, USA.

Soon, several social media users began sharing posts claiming that India has obtained permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council and gained veto power. The claim shared in Hindi language goes “मोदी जी को बधाई " भारत को मिला विटो पावर " विश्व के 180 देशो ने किया भारत का समर्थन , चायना का विरोध पडा ठंडा, भारत का दशको पुराना सपना हुवा पूरा। ये है - मोदी के भारत कि सुपर पावर । चमचों भूले तो नही हो ना भारत को मिल रही सदस्यता खुद न लेकर चीन को दिलवाने वाला प्रधानमंत्री कौन था जो हिंदी चीनी भाई भाई का नारा लगाकर चीन से जमीन भी हारा और युद्ध भी* @हाइलाइट"

Upon translation, claims "Congratulations to Modiji "India gets Veto Power". 180 countries in the world supported India, China's protest was cold, and India's decade-old dream was fulfilled. This is Modi's superpower of India. Sycophants have not forgotten, that India is getting membership, who was the Prime Minister who lost the land and also the war to China by shouting Hindi Chinese Bhai Bhai?"  

Fact Check:

The claim is False. India did not get veto power and Permanent membership in the UN Security Council.

When we searched the United Nations Security Council website, we found that the council is composed of 15 members. Five permanent members: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms are Algeria (2025), Ecuador (2024), Guyana (2025), Japan (2024), Malta (2024), Mozambique (2024), Republic of Korea (2025), Sierra Leone (2025), Slovenia (2025), Switzerland (2024).

Each member of the Security Council has one vote. The decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members. The creators of the United Nations Charter conceived that five countries — China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) [which was succeeded in 1990 by the Russian Federation], the United Kingdom, and the United States —, because of their key roles in the establishment of the United Nations, would continue to play important roles in the maintenance of international peace and security.

They were granted the special status of Permanent Member States at the Security Council, along with a special voting power known as the "right to veto". It was agreed by the drafters that if any one of the five permanent members cast a negative vote in the 15-member Security Council, the resolution or decision would not be approved. All five permanent members have exercised the right of veto at one time or another. If a permanent member does not fully agree with a proposed resolution and does not wish to cast a veto, it may choose to abstain, thus allowing the resolution to be adopted if it obtains the required number of nine favorable votes.

During the Quad summit, US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the United States supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India's important voice, including permanent membership for India in a "reformed" United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The Quad leaders vowed support to reform the UNSC through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. In a joint statement, the leaders said that the India-US partnership "is vital to the success of efforts to build a cleaner, inclusive, more secure, and more prosperous future for the planet."

Despite continuous efforts by India, it is yet to get a permanent place in the UN security council. The claim is False.