IS IT OK to bend international rules over the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons? That鈥檚 the question raised by the lifting of a ban that had prevented India from trading in commercial nuclear fuel, equipment and technology.
The Nuclear Supplier鈥檚 Group, a cartel of 45 member countries including the US and UK, voted on Saturday in Vienna, Austria, to waive the stringent requirements on nuclear commerce that had been imposed on India ever since it tested a nuclear bomb in 1974.
The NSG鈥檚 special waiver is crucial for a proposed nuclear trade agreement between the US and India. The US pushed hard for the exemption, arguing that India鈥檚 nuclear programme had not contributed to proliferation of illegal weapons.
Advertisement
Now, after decades as a nuclear pariah, India has become the only country that can trade in nuclear materials without being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). The country has refused to sign the NPT, calling it discriminatory because it only allows the US, UK, France, Russia and China to legally possess nuclear weapons.
鈥淚ndia can now trade in nuclear materials without signing the non-proliferation treaty鈥�
The Confederation of Indian Industry estimates that lifting the sanctions will result in 18 to 20 new nuclear power stations being built in India over the next 15 years. 鈥淭he agreement will permit India to address its critical energy requirements and contribute importantly to protecting our global environment,鈥� says David Mulford, the US ambassador to India.
The waiver will help India secure uranium for its existing reactors, a fuel that is in short supply in the country. India will also want to buy technology to reprocess spent fuel, helping to reduce radioactive waste. Meanwhile, it aims to start exporting surplus heavy water to South Korea and Romania, and its own technology for fast breeder reactors and reactors that use thorium-based fuel.
The Nuclear Age 鈥� Learn more about all things nuclear in our explosive .
