Indo-US nuclear logjam broken, India eyes global high table

NEW DELHI: The significance of the completion of the India-US nuclear deal cannot be overstated. Signed in 2005, with a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver in 2008, the deal has been in limbo for few years.

Sunday's discussions cleared the air on three pressing issues on the lingering impasse. First, the administrative arrangements have been hanging fire since India and US signed the Part 810 Assurances in 2010. This is an agreement that governs the nitty-gritty of the nuclear deal in action. In four years, India has signed administrative arrangements with Canada and Kazakhstan.

The Indian nuclear liability law turned off the Americans from taking necessary steps on the administrative arrangements. For couple of years the deal has been stuck on the fact that the US insisted on "nationality" tracking of fuel and equipment to make sure it stays in the civilian sector and not cross over into India's strategic programme.

India has opposed it on grounds of sovereignty. India has committed to more intrusive verification by IAEA by signing the Additional Protocol. India provides all its information to IAEA and has offered to provide these to US. Till now, America had disagreed. On Sunday, the US stepped off the bench to allow the nuclear deal to be done.

This issue has been holding up the India-Japan nuclear agreement too.


The agreement with Tokyo is crucial because any foreign reactor India would want to buy needs clearance from Japan since their equipment is present in almost every reactor. The agreement would open the door to Indian companies working in the nuclear sector to be able to build joint ventures for higher technology nuclear manufacturing, essential to the 'Make in India' programme.

The liability law is more difficult. The US appears to have agreed to an insurance pool the Indian government plans to start with public sector insurers. The US appears to have accepted the Indian legal assurance that suppliers wouldn't be vulnerable to lawsuits under other Indian laws, like tort for instance. This will be tested only by companies which have to admit such liabilities into their books.

It will also be tested by the courts which may be called upon to interpret the controversial Clause 46. The government is testing the waters on liability. If companies, particularly Indian, accept the insurance pool and run with it, they'd have crossed the hurdle.


The last issue on the nuclear file is India's pending membership of the four non-proliferation regimes. The US agreed to help India and will have to do the heavy lifting. Apart from the fact that this would finally dismantle the post-1974 technology denial regime against India, prospective membership of these regimes would open up access to technology across sectors as diverse as defence and pharmaceuticals.

Most important this promises to open up nuclear source as a big part of India's energy mix, which will allow the country make credible emission commitments in Paris later this year.