Nuclear cooperation has brought a new dimension to India’s diplomacy in the 21st century. India’s status as a responsible nuclear power is predicated upon the civil relationships in the nuclear domain that it has established with major powers. This, despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and operating outside the ambit of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This brief analyses the impact of key agreements with different countries on India’s engagements on the bilateral and multilateral level. It looks into the challenges facing the country in the implementation of these agreements and outlines the way forward for similar accords in the future.
See Full PDF See Full PDFINDO-US CIVIL NUCLEAR DEAL: DELAYED PROGRESS AND IMPLICIT GAINS
The post-Cold War geopolitical environment and China's emergence as an economic powerhouse was the principal catalyst of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. The civil nuclear deal was a business deal between India and the United States. The purpose was to fulfil India's increasing energy demands by opening up to the international nuclear market and to purchase nuclear power plants from the US. However, the operationalisation of the deal could not take off for more than a decade after the conclusion of the agreement in 2008 due to India's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010. On the contrary, the deal helped India achieve many of the unstated goals. This deal enabled India to import fissile material for its dual-use technologies under the limited safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after getting a waiver from the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG). The deal also enabled India to apply for the full membership of NSG without being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-
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