New technology, enhanced trade and commerce
Before the usual suspects of the Narendra Modi-led Government begin to crib about the regime's decision to further open up civil nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, two facts must be kept in mind. The first is that the Government has ratified an additional protocol that had been languishing for close to five years since the India-US civil nuclear deal was inked in October 2008 and the additional protocol was signed between India and the IAEA as a consequence in March 2009. The ratification was held up partly because the preceding Congress-led UPA Government lost the political will to push through with the logical follow-up measure which would help the country reap the benefits of the civil nuclear deal. By ratifying the protocol, the NDA Government has moved a significant step forward in securing its energy needs in the medium and long term, since nuclear energy will be one of the new energy options along with solar power that the Centre plans to promote. The ratification of the protocol brings in more transparency and paves the way for the import of critical nuclear technology. The ratification could lead to countries such as the US, France and even Japan, which has traditionally been wary of promoting nuclear-related projects, to enhance their levels of involvement in India's civil nuclear industry. Raring to go, these countries were hampered by technicalities such as the protocol not being ratified. The second fact is that the additional protocol covers inspections of only those nuclear plants that are already covered by the IAEA, and does not extend to sites which are ‘safe-guarded', such as facilities that are concerned with building weapons. In other words, while the additional protocol will provide complete access to the IAEA personnel to conduct their inspections through a mechanism which are already in place, it will not in any way restrict India's decision-making in connection with the country's weapons programme. So, there is no ‘sell-out’.
The ratification has a political dimension too. It offers a desirable backdrop to the visit that Prime Minister Modi is making to the US later this year where he will meet US President Barack Obama. Both the US and India would want the civil nuclear deal to provide an impetus to economic activity between the two countries and help in bringing a thaw to the frosty relations that have developed over the last year or so, especially after the Devyani Khobragade issue and the various, often avoidable, bilateral trade-related disputes. New Delhi is also keen to be part of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 45-nation club, and the ratification of the additional protocol can be seen as one important step in that direction. Whether the ratification will hasten this process, remains to be seen. What is certain is that India has strengthened its claim to be a member of the elite group as a result of this ratification.