dr. rupakjyoti borah, assistant professor(international relations)
DR. RUPAKJYOTI BORAH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR(INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) PANDIT DEENDAYAL PETROLEUM UNIVERSITY, GUJARAT, INDIA
India has always been a responsible nuclear power and has not proliferated any kind of weapons technology The 1998 nuclear tests by India and Pakistan showed the weaknesses of the existing Arms Control regime
India has officially declared a no-first use policy with regards to its nuclear weapons The civilian government in India has always remained in firm control of all weapons stockpiles
Danger of nuclear/chemical/biological weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors The issue of Iran allegedly developing a nuclear-weapons programme North Korean missile test-April 2012 Piracy in the international waterways is a big concern. This is exacerbated by the easily availability of small arms
India ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) in 1974. In 1993, it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and ratified the same in 1996. After India’s nuclear tests of 1998, it declared a voluntary moratorium on further tests.
However, India has not signed the CTBT and the NPT
India is one of the fastest-growing countries worldwide and needs a huge amount of energy from all sources India cannot build massive hydro-electric power plants since their construction involves displacing thousands of people, and causes irreparable damage to the environment. Many Indian states(provinces) rich in hydro-power potential, such as Arunachal Pradesh, are in seismically active and sensitive border regions.
India can help reach out to recalcitrant nations like Iran and North Korea India is aspiring to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) As per conservative estimates, India will be the most populous country in the world by 2030 and is the world’s biggest democracy
Keeping in mind its excellent track-record, India has been given a waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.
India has already inked civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the US, France, Russia, Canada, Argentina, the U.K., Namibia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. India has joined the leading international legal instruments on nuclear security - the Convention on Physical Protection and its 2005 amendment, and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister of India announced that India will contribute US$1 million to the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Fund for the years 2012-13.
The Rajiv Gandhi (the former Indian Prime Minister) Action Plan for Nuclear Disarmament, originally outlined in June 1988 at the UN General Assembly should be revamped The then Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in his address to the UN General Assembly on 9 June 1988, outlined a time-bound action plan to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. It was to be implemented in three stages over the next 22 years and should have reached its conclusion by June 2010 Initiatives likes the Proliferation Security Initiative(PSI) would work better if it is brought under the umbrella of the United Nations(Note: India has not joined the PSI)
The concept of the nuclear fuel bank needs to be further strengthened to reduce the possibility of nations pursuing a nuclear-weapons programme. The first such nuclear fuel bank is located near the Russian city of Angarsk and became operational in December 2010. India should be given full membership of multilateral regimes like the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Keeping in mind its excellent track record and its growing power potential , it is sine qua non that India is made a part of a new international arms control regime.
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION
India has always been a responsible nuclear power and has not proliferated any kind of weapons technology The 1998 nuclear tests by India and Pakistan showed the weaknesses of the existing Arms Control regime
India has officially declared a no-first use policy with regards to its nuclear weapons The civilian government in India has always remained in firm control of all weapons stockpiles
Danger of nuclear/chemical/biological weapons falling into the hands of non-state actors The issue of Iran allegedly developing a nuclear-weapons programme North Korean missile test-April 2012 Piracy in the international waterways is a big concern. This is exacerbated by the easily availability of small arms
India ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) in 1974. In 1993, it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and ratified the same in 1996. After India’s nuclear tests of 1998, it declared a voluntary moratorium on further tests.
However, India has not signed the CTBT and the NPT
India is one of the fastest-growing countries worldwide and needs a huge amount of energy from all sources India cannot build massive hydro-electric power plants since their construction involves displacing thousands of people, and causes irreparable damage to the environment. Many Indian states(provinces) rich in hydro-power potential, such as Arunachal Pradesh, are in seismically active and sensitive border regions.
India can help reach out to recalcitrant nations like Iran and North Korea India is aspiring to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) As per conservative estimates, India will be the most populous country in the world by 2030 and is the world’s biggest democracy
Keeping in mind its excellent track-record, India has been given a waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.
India has already inked civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the US, France, Russia, Canada, Argentina, the U.K., Namibia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. India has joined the leading international legal instruments on nuclear security - the Convention on Physical Protection and its 2005 amendment, and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister of India announced that India will contribute US$1 million to the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Fund for the years 2012-13.
The Rajiv Gandhi (the former Indian Prime Minister) Action Plan for Nuclear Disarmament, originally outlined in June 1988 at the UN General Assembly should be revamped The then Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in his address to the UN General Assembly on 9 June 1988, outlined a time-bound action plan to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. It was to be implemented in three stages over the next 22 years and should have reached its conclusion by June 2010 Initiatives likes the Proliferation Security Initiative(PSI) would work better if it is brought under the umbrella of the United Nations(Note: India has not joined the PSI)
The concept of the nuclear fuel bank needs to be further strengthened to reduce the possibility of nations pursuing a nuclear-weapons programme. The first such nuclear fuel bank is located near the Russian city of Angarsk and became operational in December 2010. India should be given full membership of multilateral regimes like the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Keeping in mind its excellent track record and its growing power potential , it is sine qua non that India is made a part of a new international arms control regime.
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION
