- India is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
- Ever since India applied for the membership of the NSG in May 2016, it seemed to have triggered and threatened the Chinese authority
- India has given an ultimatum to the West to ensure our entry into the NSG or forget your climate goals being achieved any time soon.
India is a member of the G4 – a group of nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan, who back each other in seeking a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and advocate in favour of the reformation of the UNSC. For the eighth time, India has entered the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member, for a period of two years (2021-22). India is one of the founding members of the UNSC and for seven times it has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council. India is fast emerging as an economic superpower. When it comes to achieving the Paris Accord climate goals, India is the only country that has met its goals well before the target date of 2030.
India is also a nuclear-powered nation. And yet, India is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The NSG is a 48-member group that regulates global nuclear commerce. To serve as a barrier to India’s entry into the NSG, China has been insisting that only those countries that are a part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should be allowed to enter the organisation. Ever since India applied for the membership of the NSG in May 2016, it seemed to have triggered and threatened the Chinese authority. China maintains that there would be no discussion on India’s entry into the NSG.
Now, India has given an ultimatum to the West to ensure our entry into the NSG or forget your climate goals being achieved any time soon. India has made it clear that its climate and development goals are tied with its entry into the grouping.
India’s Sherpa to the G20 Summit, Piyush Goyal said, “As I said this is something that needs to be determined based on the type of technologies that would be available for that climate transition. For example, for our base load to be replaced from coal to may be nuclear, we will need large amounts of capital for setting up nuclear plants both to replace our current demand and for the future demand that our development imperative requires.”
He added, “Secondly, we will need to be members the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to ensure adequate availability of raw materials for nuclear supply and several other associated concerns around cost of power. So, it’s going to be a holistic solution which will emerge through dialogue, discussion and the collective effort of all the countries.” India gave the ultimatum to the West as part of the “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)” which calls on the developed West to fulfil its commitments.
Read more: Biden supports India’s bid to enter NSG and be a permanent member of the UNSC
In September, during the first in-person bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden, Biden had stressed over his support for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and for permanent membership in a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
India now seems to have called on America and the West to walk the talk and push for India’s inclusion into the NSG. Given how concerned the West appears to be on the issue of climate change, it is safe to assume that India’s demand would soon be met.
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