New Delhi: The United States, in a major step to strengthen ties with India, has lifted long-standing restrictions on three major Indian nuclear entities less than a week before President Joe Biden leaves office. The decision announced on Wednesday removes a major hurdle to civil nuclear cooperation between the two nations.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR), and Indian Rare Earths (IRE) have been removed from sanctions imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security. Experts believe that this move is a key move forward for advancing the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Deal.
But the timing of the decision has baffled many, following fresh sanctions by the US against Russian oil that could straight hit India. According to the officials, this has sparked supposition that the U.S. may be trying to force India into dependencies on the U.S. in fuel (uranium) it buys, given that India continues to be a major fuel (uranium) purchaser from Russia.
The United States believes this is at least partly motivated by its desire to encourage India to take similar deals for nuclear fuel. According to India’s only supplier of uranium for its nuclear reactors, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, France, and Canada are the current sources of the imported fuel.
This action would ‘take that closer cooperation with India to secure more resilient critical minerals and clean energy supply chains,’ said Matthew Borman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration.
This move is, however, coming at a time when US sanctions could upset India’s crude source from Russia. But this dual approach points to a complex U.S. strategy to reframe its energy relationships in the region.
India’s goal to expand nuclear power capacity and reach its climate goals could promote a major divergence in Indo-U.S. energy collaboration. The full implications of these policy changes will, however, still be to be seen, given the upcoming change in U.S. administration.