Why India wants to be in the NSG: 10 things you need to know

There is a lot of anticipation about the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary session that is taking place in Seoul on Thursday and Friday. But what exactly is the NSG and why is it crucial for India to be a member of this group? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convinced several members, including US, Mexico and Switzerland, to allow India on board but with China yet to accept India’s inclusion and Pakistan’s outright protest against it, the plenary session of 23 and 24 June takes on significant meaning. Here’s a primer: 1. The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) states on its website that it is “a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.” The guidelines includes a principle that states that transfer of nuclear technology will be authorised only on the condition that such a deal will not lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. That’s why all the member states of the NSG are signatories of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NSG guidelines also complement several other international treaties related to nuclear non-proliferation. [caption id=“attachment_2852314” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Mexico is supporting India’s bid for NSG membership. Reuters[/caption] 2. India is not a member of the NPT. It is a point that China has consistently raised while trying to block India’s membership to the NSG. However, China is supporting Pakistan’s membership. Pakistan too has not signed the NPT. 3. NSG was set up in response to India’s own clandestine nuclear test in 1974, which made New Delhi something of a pariah in the West. Joining the club requires the unanimous approval of all 48 members. 4. Analysts say joining the NSG is chiefly a matter of pride and desire to be taken seriously by some of the world’s most powerful nations. Since prompting international technology sanctions and limits on exports by conducting nuclear tests in 1998, India has been eager to gain legitimacy as a nuclear power. 5. Joining the NSG will give India better access to low-cost, clean nuclear energy – important for its economic growth. Nuclear power is one way India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, could cut its emissions and reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants. 6. As Jaideep Prabhu points out in this _Firstpost_ article , NSG membership would put India on a firmer footing to propose the idea of plutonium trade for its thorium programme that has been waiting in the wings. An early adoption of thorium technology would give India enormous energy independence and security. 7. PM Modi is so keen on the NSG membership that he set up a meet with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent on Thursday. It is the same day when the NSG plenary session in Seoul begins, a meeting in which India’s membership application is expected to come up. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is in Seoul to closely monitor the NSG meet. 8. The US has openly supported India’s membership to the NSG and even urged other members to do so. “We believe, and this has been US policy for some time, that India is ready for membership and the United States calls on participating governments to support India’s application at the plenary session of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. Among others who have publicly backed India’s bid to NSG are Mexico, France, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, UK and Canada. 9. Other than China, countries that are opposing India’s inclusion in the NSG are Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand. 10. While considering India’s membership application, the NSG will also have to consider the fact that accepting this application can pose problems on the processing of applications from Pakistan and Israel, both of whom have not signed the NPT. With inputs from agencies