Nuclear Suppliers’ Group can’t undo waiver granted to India

India’s 2008 Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) “clean waiver” is a “specific” NSG decision, and cannot be superseded by any “general” decision taken by the NSG, government sources on Monday said, seeking to clear the confusion surrounding the NSG’s supposed ban on sale of sensitive enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technologies to non-NPT nations.

“The 2008 waiver was an India-specific waiver, which had been given despite of India’s non-NPT status and a clear stand of not opening our nuclear weapons facilities to international scrutiny. NSG’s strengthening of guidelines is a general decision which should not affect the clean waiver given to India,” a government source said.

Last week the 46-nation international nuclear non-proliferation regime met in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and took a decision to “strengthen” guidelines on transfer of sensitive enrichment and reprocessing technologies.

Though the NSG also maintained that it “continued to consider” all aspects of the 2008 statement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation with India, there are fears the NSG has pronounced a ban on sale of ENR technologies to non-NPT signatory countries, which will severely affect India’s nuclear commerce and its growing energy needs.

“There are two sides to the issue. One is NSG’s obligation to India, and India’s obligation to the NSG. We have sincerely and diligently stuck to our commitments. Our non-proliferation track record, as the NSG had admitted in 2008, is impeccable. So, the NSG cannot back out from its commitment now,” the source said.

Under the 2005 Indo-US nuclear deal that paved the way for the waiver, India agreed to separate its civil and military facilities and put its civil nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. India has put 14 (civilian) of its 22 reactors under the IAEA safeguards.