UK lifts curbs on N-exports to India

Britain lifted its ban on the export of sensitive nuclear technology to India for civilian projects giving momentum to the resumption of global atomic cooperation with New Delhi. The change in the position of the British government—a strong supporter of the Indo-US nuclear deal—followed the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver in September that brought India back into the nuclear mainstream after 34 years of nuclear isolation following the Pokhran nuclear test in 1974. “Since March 2002, UK policy has been to refuse all licence applications for trigger list items to India,” foreign office minister Bill Rammell said.“That policy has changed and we will consider on a case by case basis licence applications for peaceful use of all items on the NSG trigger list and the NSG dual-use list when they are destined for IAEA safeguarded civil nuclear facilities in India,” Rammell told the House of Commons. The ban will remain in force on items destined for “unsafeguarded nuclear fuel cycle or nuclear explosive activities”.