Indo-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Achievements and complications

The conventional wisdom on indo-US relations states that in the last few years, the two sides have elevated their interaction to a deeper level. The Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) has substantiated the Indo-US relations. These steps include discussions on cooperation in defense technology, proposed sale of advanced fighter aircrafts, and the supply of civilian nuclear material. Moreover, in July 2005, joint statement resolved to establish a US-India “global partnership” through increased cooperation on economic issues, on energy and the environment, on democracy and development, on non-proliferation and security, and on high technology and space. The biggest landmark in the Indo-US relations was achieved with the unveiling of Indo-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in July 2005. This agreement has put Indo-US relation on new heights. The irritants in the bilateral relations in terms of ideology, closed Indian economy, India’s inclination towards Soviet Union during the cold war and later India’s nuclear detonation and its pessimistic attitude towards the NPT have certainly created hyphenation in the bilateral relations, but with the unveiling of nuclear agreement there is a shift in the bilateral engagements not only on nuclear front but on other broad issues as well. Notwithstanding, the merits of Indo-US nuclear deal there are many issues that are yet to be resolved vis-à-vis Indo-US nuclear agreement. The objective of this paper is to understand the deal and also what are the issues, on which the consensus has not been incurred.