India has issued guidelines that seek to tighten the screws on export of nuclear equipment and technology. This is understood to be a fallout of the recent pact with the US. | |
| Under the new guidelines issued last week, export of nuclear technology can be authorised only when "the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguard arrangements are made or assured by a recipient country". |
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| Furthermore, the norms say, "The department of atomic energy should be satisfied that the transfers will not contribute to the development of nuclear weapons or be diverted to acts of nuclear terrorism." |
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| Every application for export shall be scrutinised on merit by the department, which also is the licensing authority. Licences are subject to recipient states having relevant IAEA safeguards agreement in force and agreeing to on-site verifications by Indian inspectors. |
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| India also reserves the right to apply additional conditions of supply. In addition, the consent of the central government should be obtained for any re-transfer of exported items or related technology. |
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| The guidelines prohibit exports of certain "prescribed" substances or technologies "when there is an unacceptable risk of their diversion to the development of a nuclear device". |
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| Otherwise, virtually the entire range of nuclear technologies developed by the DAE in the last 40 years, including enrichment technology, can be exported if the IAEA safeguards are applied to them by recipient nations. |
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| The exportable items, listed under the guidelines, include nuclear reactors, fuel reprocessing plants, fuel fabrication plants, uranium enrichment plants, uranium and plutonium conversion facilities, heavy water production plants and tritium recovery plants, among others. |
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| In any case, according to the guidelines, the government should exercise restraint in the transfer of sensitive facilities, technology and material usable for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. |
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| For instance, although enrichment facilities, equipment and technology are included in the list, there are "special controls" on their export. |
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| The guidelines say, "The recipient nation should agree that neither the transferred facility, nor any facility based on such technology, will be designed or operated for the production of greater than 20 per cent enriched uranium without the consent of the government of India." |
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