{"id":58202,"date":"2016-06-09T16:30:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=58202"},"modified":"2016-11-12T22:49:44","modified_gmt":"2016-11-12T17:19:44","slug":"what-is-nsg-and-why-india-is-seeking-its-membership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/government\/what-is-nsg-and-why-india-is-seeking-its-membership","title":{"rendered":"What is NSG and why is India seeking its membership?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"India's<\/a><\/p>\n

The Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) is a grouping of 48 nuclear supplier countries to check proliferation of \u00a0nuclear weapons based on the guidelines laid down for export of nuclear technology and nuclear related products. The 48 nation group includes the big five nuclear weapon states \u2013 US, UK, Russia, France and China. NSG was formed in 1974 after India exploded its nuclear device in Pokhran. Since India was not part of NSG, global concern for nuclear technology development and export by a non-member nation, led to the formation of NSG.<\/p>\n

Non Proliferation Principle<\/h3>\n

Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was adopted as a treaty (NPT) in 1994 which lays guidelines for signatory nations with regard to\u00a0transfer of nuclear technology and ensuring legally binding checks to prevent misuse of the same.<\/p>\n

The NSG Guidelines comprise several crucial treaties signed over the years, all with the objective to build checks and safeguards against proliferation of nuclear technology.<\/p>\n

Current members of NSG<\/h3>\n

Austria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Belgium, Belarus, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Poland, Russian Federation, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia, South Africa, Serbia, Sweden, Slovenia, Turkey, United States, Ukraine, United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

India seeks NSG Membership<\/h3>\n

Though not a signatory to NPT, as\u00a0it considers\u00a0the treaty\u00a0discriminatory, India has been actively seeking to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. India\u2019s attempt at membership got a boost during the UPA I regime, when the US administration under President George W. Bush decided to open up nuclear trade with India.<\/p>\n

It took some serious lobbying within the US administration and Congress to get laws amended to pave way\u00a0for civilian nuclear trade with India.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s first formal request for NSG membership came up for discussion during the NSG meeting held between 21-22 August 2008, that was aimed at providing an exception to the Guidelines and allow for a one time waiver to India for purchasing civil nuclear plant for power generation. The move was strongly opposed by New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Norway and Ireland. China remained opposed to India\u2019s entry but remained low-key in its opposition letting this group take the lead to block India\u2019s entry.<\/p>\n

After hectic lobbying led by India and actively supported by the United States, in another meeting on 6 September the same year, member nations finally agreed to provide India a one-time \u2018clean waiver\u2019. The waiver was subject to India pledging not to share or export any sensitive nuclear technology or material and not conducting any further nuclear tests. India clearly defined its non-proliferation and disarmament policies during the NSG meeting.<\/p>\n

Besides, India\u2019s case has been strengthened since it has committed itself to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, wherein India has opened its civilian nuclear infrastructure to IAEA inspections.<\/p>\n

In 2010, during a state visit to India, President Barrack Obama announced his country\u2019s support for India joining the NSG and other critical groups like the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Australia Group, in a phased manner. It may be noted here that India has finally joined the MTCR this year.<\/p>\n

China, which remained a low-key but opposing member in 2008 has now announced that it is willing to offer \u2018conditional support\u2019 to India, saying India\u2019s application must be treated with prudence and caution.<\/p>\n

In order to delay India\u2019s entry, Pakistan has now submitted an application for membership of NSG. Given its dubious past record in nuclear proliferation, it stands little chance of being taken seriously but the move is aimed at containing India\u2019s chances of gaining entry to the exclusive club.<\/p>\n

All eyes are now on the outcome of the NSG\u00a0meeting that will decide India\u2019s case. While expectations are high in India, it\u2019s still not a done deal. Bloomberg has reported the case of three diplomats who have expressed reservations regarding India\u2019s safeguards, saying it still hasn\u2019t met member admission criteria.<\/p>\n

They also expressed fears that any dilution in admission criteria favouring India, may lead to lower criteria being applied to subsequent applications, in a veiled reference to Pakistan\u2019s bid for membership.<\/p>\n

Why is NSG membership significant for India?<\/h3>\n

India has committed itself to increasing its share of clean energy, which includes renewable and non-fossil based energy, to 40% of its total energy generation.<\/p>\n

In order to achieve this, nuclear power generation is back in focus. While India has developed its own civil nuclear technology, it still requires advanced technologies that are more efficient and lower in cost. For that, it has to access technologies available with countries like, US, Canada, Japan, Russia and France.<\/p>\n

Without an NSG membership, accessing the same is a problem. The NSG waiver in 2008 enabled it to buy nuclear plants but there are several advanced technologies that find application in the field of medicine and medical care, transportation and space that are presently out of reach. Since India is not a signatory to NPT, NSG membership is a must.<\/p>\n

This is why the US has been lobbying actively for India\u2019s membership as it presents a big opportunity for nuclear related business.<\/p>\n

\u2018Make in India\u2019 is a stated objective of this government and developing an efficient and secure nuclear-based manufacturing and research ecosystem will go a long way in establishing innovation in advanced technologies. NSG membership will allow for sharing and joint research in advanced technologies that can then be exported to other member states.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s membership to NSG could also put the brakes of Pakistan\u2019s ambition of becoming a member of this elite group, since membership is based on consensus among member nations. China understands this and that is yet another reason to try and get the NSG to apply parallel standards on both India and Pakistan\u2019s membership application.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does PM Modi\u2019s Japan visit mean for India?<\/a>
\nPM Modi\u2019s Historic Africa Visit<\/a>
\nIndia Becomes Full Member of MTCR: Things to Know<\/a>
\nThe Modi-Obama Meet<\/a>
\nPM Narendra Modi’s Switzerland Visit<\/a>
\nCountries Visited by Narendra Modi<\/a>
\nKey Takeaways from Modi\u2019s Foreign Tours<\/a>
\nModi\u2019s UK visit reinforces India\u2019s status as a rising power<\/a>
\nPM Narendra Modi\u2019s Ireland, US Visit <\/a>
\nPM Modi\u2019s tour of UK and Turkey<\/a>
\nPM Modi\u2019s Tour of Russia and Central Asia<\/a>
\nThe Reason Behind Modi’s Russia Visit<\/a>
\nPM Modi bridges the Gulf<\/a>
\nImportance of Modi\u2019s Iran Visit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) is a grouping of 48 nuclear supplier countries to check proliferation of \u00a0nuclear weapons based on the guidelines laid down for export of nuclear technology and nuclear related products. The 48 nation group includes the big five nuclear weapon states \u2013 US, UK, Russia, France and China. NSG was formed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1316,"featured_media":58230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11315,6124],"tags":[6805,6806],"class_list":{"0":"post-58202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-government","8":"category-india","9":"category-technology","10":"tag-nsg","11":"tag-nuclear-suppliers-group"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58202"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63344,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58202\/revisions\/63344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}