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Books on India
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Update No: 039 - (26/04/07)
INDIA-US Nuclear Deal May Hit a Roadblock in
the Wake of Missile Test
As India continues to develop nuclear weapons, the primary question from the
perspective of the non-proliferation regime is whether India should be treated
as a recognized nuclear weapons state which retains its right to test weapons
and produce weapons grade plutonium; although India, has been recognized for a
very long time as a nuclear weapon state which refused to sign the NPT. Two
issues, namely, testing and fuel processing are proving to be the stickiest as
the two countries are negotiating the details of the accord, known as a
"123 agreement." The Indian side has resisted those provisions in the
agreement which potentially restrict its ability from conducting further nuclear
weapons tests and placing certain boundaries on whether it can reprocess spent
nuclear fuel. The United States fears that the reprocessed fuel could be used to
produce weapons-grade plutonium for a new generation of nuclear weapons,
undermining the Bush administration argument that the unusual deal with India
would aid non-proliferation. However, most people in the non-proliferation
community tend to forget that there is a difference between developing nuclear
weapons for strategic purposes as with the SC% and the development of nuclear
technology for the purpose of aiding terrorist groups. America really should not
be looking at India to begin the next nuclear war. However, the presence of a
nuclear armed Pakistan on the Indian border exacerbates concerns which are
probably not without merit. Second, nuclear weapons can be seen as vital for the
protection of India's territorial sovereignty from external threats. And hence,
remains a legitimate reason for developing nuclear weapons. U.S. Under Secretary
of State, Nicholas Burns expressed his frustration with the time taken to hammer
out a mutually beneficial agreement but he remains hopeful. Burns said the
Indian foreign secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, had been invited to Washington for
talks early next month, and Burns then plans to travel to India.
Interestingly these issues are perhaps also being brought up in the aftermath of
the successful testing of a missile by India that could theoretically hit China,
extending its nuclear reach. On April 12, India launched its intermediate-range
Agni-III missile, a device capable of striking targets 2,170 miles inside China.
The government's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
simultaneously declared that India now has the capacity to build
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that would extend India's reach
beyond Asia. DRDO Chief, M. Natarajan said, "we have achieved the
capability to make missiles with a range of 5,500 kilometres but the decision to
develop an ICBM has to be taken by the political leadership." This
statement is also a clear indication of strict civilian control over the
management of nuclear weapons in India. But Natarajan claims that India is well
on its way to building an ICBM as "DRDO scientists are working on
miniaturizing systems of Agni-III so that a third stage can be squeezed into the
16-meter-long missile to enable it to go up to 5,500 kilometres with the same
1.5-ton payload." A second test of Agni-III is likely to be undertaken in
August or October of this year.
India- New Zealand Trade Agreement
India and New Zealand have arrived at an agreement enabling free trade
between the two countries. New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff and his Indian
counterpart Kamal Nath are meeting in Wellington to discuss the modalities.
"While achieving a free trade agreement with India would require us to
overcome significant obstacles, agreement in principle to conduct a study into
what such an agreement would mean for both of our countries would be a good
start," Goff was quoted as saying by the media here. Trade between the two
countries is small, but growing fast. "New Zealand-India two-way trade is
at less than $650 million compares with nearly $7 billion in our two-way trade
with China," Goff said. In his discussions with Commerce Minister Kamal
Nath, Goff raised concerns about tariff and non-tariff barriers. Tariffs on key
New Zealand food and beverage items are high, and food safety controls, which
exceed international standards, can prevent trade in areas such as dairy and
meat," he said. Goff said education and tourism interests in New Zealand
were expanding in India and there was potential for a direct air service between
Auckland and Mumbai within a few years to assist trade. "New Zealand has
much in common with India, including language, political and legal institutions
and a long-standing and warm relationship, which should make trade easier,"
he said. The study is to be developed further at a meeting expected to be held
in September.
India-Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline
There has been some speculation that India does not have serious intentions
in going ahead with the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project. However, according to a
recent statement by an Indian official, India remains committed to take part in
the $7-billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project. "We have
been assured by the Indian government that it has no plan to abandon the IPI gas
pipeline project under American pressure", said Pakistan petroleum and
natural resources secretary, Mr Ahmad Waqar. He also added that during the
recent SAARC summit in New Delhi, Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Shaukat Aziz, was
assured by his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, that his country was
extremely serious about the project. Mr Waqar, however, said that Pakistan was
pursing both bilateral and tri-lateral approaches to ensure that the project was
not abandoned for any reason. But in the event of India backing out from the
project, Islamabad and Teheran are all set to go ahead with the project.
Mounting energy requirements in India and Pakistan have forced both the
countries to "have a certain feasible gas pipeline project", said Mr
Waqar and that the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) here had
recently approved the gas sharing arrangement with India under the IPI project.
Under the Phase-1 of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) project, Iran would deliver
about 2.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (BCFD) at the Pakistani border that
would be equally shared by both India and Pakistan. Under the Phase II of the
project, 3.2 BCFD of gas would be transported by Iran, bringing the total gas
supplies to 5.3 BCFD from Teheran. Of these supplies, Pakistan and India would
get 2.1 BCFD and 3.2 BCFD respectively.
NY Times Report on MNCs in India
A New York Times Report investigates how a new wave of foreign competitive
pressure is showing its signs in the United States economy, especially from
companies in emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China. These
companies are in quest of becoming giant cartels or multi national corporations.
For instance, Samsung Electronics emerged from South Korea and Toyota sprang
from Japan during the earlier phases of globalisation. India also has witnessed
a tremendous growth in its technology sector through companies like Wipro,
Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services. Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian
living in Europe now owns the largest steel company in the world. The emergence
of MNCs is part of increasing globalisation and industrialization. The primary
question the report raises is how so many companies that once would have been
content to operate in their home markets have so rapidly gained the expertise to
manage complex multinational operations? The report says that this can be
explained by the ease in global communications and air travel.
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