[14][15] Arihant was launched on 26 July 2009, the anniversary of Vijay Diwas (Kargil War Victory Day) by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

[19] Their crew were to have the opportunity to train on INS Chakra, an Akula-class submarine, which the Indian Navy leased from Russia.

[29] Russia was also reported to have provided assistance to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) scientists in miniaturising the reactor to fit into the hull of the nuclear submarine[30] Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 (three per launch tube) smaller K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles.

[35] Admiral Verma told reporters on 7 August 2012 that sea trials of Arihant were commencing in coming months, and she was steadily progressing towards operationalisation.

[36] On 27 January 2013, Sagarika, the primary armament of Arihant, completed its final developmental test and was later integrated with the submarine.

[37] On 10 August 2013, the nuclear reactor of the submarine went critical[23] this after several months of system checks using shore-based high-pressure steam.

INS Arihant was introduced to the public on 26 July 2009 at a symbolic launch ceremony by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur.

[42][43] In his address to the crowd, Prime Minister Singh billed the submarine as an outcome of a public-private partnership.

[49][50][51][52] These allegations were dismissed by some sources due to the submarine being based on a Double hull design[53] as well as claims that it does not have a hatch to the propulsion compartment.

Although the Indian Ministry for Defence refused to deny the allegations, claiming it would be a breach of national security to speak on the matter.