02 - Landmark Indo - U.S Deal

This week the governments of India and U.S.A signed a landmark nuclear deal to supply nuclear fuel and technology to India. This deal is a visible acknowledgement of the fact that India is a responsible and capable world power by U.S. This deal will be of great importance to India which is facing a large power shortage. Most states in the country are subjected to long hours of load shedding as there is no enough production of electricity. This deal will improve the power situation. Of course there is not going to be any immediate effect of this deal, it will take about 10 years for this deal to bear fruit, also the U.S congress should pass this bill for the deal to materialize in the first place.
India on its part, for the deal to take place was asked by United States to separate its civilian and defence nuclear programmes. So India decided to put roughly 65% of it’s reactors on the civilian list. It has put 14 out of 22 reactors on the civilian list (this includes those that are under construction). It will be done in a phased manner over the years 2006-2014. The Indian civilian programme will now come under the scrutiny of IAEA, the U.N nuclear watchdog, but the defence programme will continue to be closed to inspection. Normally every nation can withdraw its nuclear reactors from the civilian list under reasons of national security, but in the case of India it will not have this right.
The Indian Prime Minister said that the indigenous nuclear programme will continue following the three stage programme as envisioned by the great late Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha. For this India will continue with the locally extracted plutonium and thorium. Uranium and Plutonium fuel will be supplied to India for civilian use. The spent nuclear fuel will have to be sent back to the supplier nation, this is for preventing India using that for its defence programme.
What U.S gains from this are that they have managed to tilt India to its side on the Iran issue. India will no longer need the gas pipeline from Iran via Pakistan, for its energy requirements. Also this will help check China as India will to some extend level the power imbalance in South Asia.
For India, other that bringing to end the power starvation which will better its already growing economy (presently at 8%), the other positives are that the world and particularly U.S now recognizes it as a global force. India is not a signatory of the Non- Proliferation Treaty or the CTBT (Comprehensive test ban treaty), but still U.S decided to go forward with this deal indicates that U.S trusts in India. It will also help Russia in supplying India with nuclear fuel which it always intended to but could not due to international pressure. Now India is in a very good position with its long standing partnership with Russia in good shape complementing the vibrant new U.S deal.