Full Membership for India in Export Control Regimes should be the Next Logical Step, Says Mathai

April 18, 2012

New Delhi, April 18, 2012: India views a strong and effective national export control system as an essential link between our broader national security goals and our wider foreign policy objectives, said Foreign Secretary, Mr Ranjan Mathai in his key address during the one day National Seminar on Strategic Export Control. The seminar was organised jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) on Wednesday April 18, 2012.

In an important policy statement, Mr Mathai advocated full membership for India in the four export control regimes. “While we wish to move forward in tandem on all the four regimes, our engagement with NSG is seen by observers as the most important. The logical conclusion of partnership with India is its full membership of the four multilateral regimes”, he reiterated. India has expressed interest in joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Australia Group (AG), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

Mr Mathai added “India’s impeccable non-proliferation record has been widely recognized and was reflected in the milestone NSG decision of September 2008 on Civil Nuclear Cooperation with India.”

India has consistent record of implementation of its voluntary commitments and has made progress since September 2008 in the implementation of the Civil Nuclear Initiative, Mr Mathai asserted.

Explaining the rationale for export control, Mr Mathai said “just as export controls are vital for national security and global non-proliferation objectives, they are also essential for the pursuit of growth and national development by harnessing the benefits of globalization.” As India’s integration with global trade patterns and supply chains deepens, it would increasingly become an important hub of manufacturing and export of high technology items, he added.

Describing India’s export control framework, Mr Mathai said that India has ‘a law based export system, covering about nine different legislations’. The nation’s export controls are in line with the highest international standards and in some cases, in view of the generic coverage of controlled items or controls at the stage of manufacturing, they extend beyond the controls of the multilateral regimes, asserted Mr Mathai. India has also increased engagement with various countries and its participation in international and regional export control seminars and conferences, he said.

In terms of implementation, an Inter-Ministerial Working Group, coordinated by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade administers the SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Material, Equipment and Technology) regulations, which outline the procedure, process and factors relating to the licensing of controlled items. India’s national enforcement mechanisms cover prevention, detection and penalization of unauthorized exports. Customs and other enforcement agencies are active participants in these efforts. These activities are coordinated through an inter-agency Core Group which meets periodically to review these issues, explained Mr Mathai.

Following Mr Mathai’s address, former diplomat, Ms Arundhati Ghose chaired a session on ‘India’s export control system. The session emphasised upon the importance of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the need to export in accordance with our capabilities. Other speakers in the session were Ms Vibha Bhalla, Joint Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Shri A.B. Awati, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

A robust legal framework included the MMD Act 2005 that governs export license system in India.

DGFT in 2010-11 issued 158 export licenses worth US$ 47.57 million. An Inter-ministerial Working Group evaluates the export license applications and issues the licenses. Nuclear exports are handled entirely by the Department of Atomic Energy.

Earlier, underlining the importance of technology for India’s security and prosperity, Director General, IDSA, Dr Arvind Gupta said, “Although, India is not yet a part of the major multilateral export control regimes, its impeccable record on non-proliferation has been recognised by the international community.

The one day seminar brought together a wide range of participants – government officials from departments dealing with export controls, representatives from industry, analysts and scholars from the research and academic communities, as well as foreign experts and members of the diplomatic corps, in particular representatives of countries currently chairing the various multilateral export control regimes. Experts from EU, Japan, US and Australia made presentations.

The seminar was aimed at raising awareness about India’s export control system and reassuring the international community about its robustness.