Advantages and Disadvantages of U.S.-India nuclear agreement

Op/Ed: U.S.-India nuclear agreement has advantagesTufts Daily, April 24, 2006

In a time when the United States-Iran nuclear dispute remains one of the most polemical topics on the international scene, passing a nuclear deal with another developing nation seems like an ironic decision to make. Yet this is exactly what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged members of Congress to do earlier this month.

During his trip to India in March, President George W. Bush struck a milestone agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, promising U.S. assistance in advancing India's civil nuclear program in return for an open inspection of Indian nuclear facilities.

While Rice has been lobbying for the agreement to be passed by Capitol Hill, approving the deal will not be an easy decision to make for Congress, as it demands a deviation from 30 years of U.S. nuclear policy. (Traditionally, the United States does not aid in the nuclear development of nations that have not yet signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.)

Invariably, the agreement comes with many political implications. Though its timing is somewhat inopportune, its approval at a time when international nuclear policy is particularly stringent will only further display the serious efforts on the behalf of the United States to strengthen its ties with India. Considering that the latter is currently the world's largest democracy, with economic growth that is only surpassed by China's, the deal clearly has its advantages.

At the same time, Washington has expressed its hesitancy in passing the deal because of India's apparent relationship with Iran. India, like many other countries, has strong oil ties with Iran. The nuclear deal is partly aimed at decreasing India's dependency on Iran for energy sources; this might not lead to an immediate loosening of ties between the two countries, however.

In fact, during Bush's visit, India also played host to two Iranian sailor ships, whose arrival marked the onset of five days of joint collaborations between India and Iran, as determined by the Tehran-New Delhi Treaty of 2003. By allowing India to bypass the Non-Proliferation treaty, the United Sates may fear it is setting a bad precedent for countries such as Egypt, which might rethink their nuclear program once they no longer view the U.S. threat of retaliation as serious.

Clearly, the political effects of the nuclear deal are somewhat ambiguous, bringing many advantages and disadvantages. From an economic standpoint, though, the implications are clearer and in fact, unanimously point to positive effects.

Even though India has been experiencing incredible economic growth, it still needs to undergo many reforms before it can become fully comfortable in its role as a world power. Like most developing countries, India still lacks a proper infrastructure and needs to improve upon its living conditions. The nuclear deal might just help India to take the next step towards realizing those of its goals that are aimed at improving these critical social conditions.

With the economy barging ahead, India has been largely unable to meet its demand for a greater electricity supply, which was already scarce to begin with. Blackouts are a part of everyday life: Farmers in India, who account for approximately two-fifths of the power consumed, can hardly count on receiving power for half of the day. Many big companies build their own power plants to make sure their operations are not halted due to inefficient power failures, an option smaller corporations do not have.

Additionally, the electricity demanded is estimated to increase by 10 percent. Under such conditions, the development of nuclear plants under the United States-India agreement will allow India to better meet the challenge of the inevitably increasing electricity shortages.

Furthermore, it will also help India achieve this in a way that is not harmful to the environment. Dependence on the coal sector - which, while being the cheapest power supplier also contains the highest percentage of carbon - can be reduced. Nuclear power will provide India with a "cleaner" option, since the latter does not emit any greenhouse gases.

If the United States-India nuclear agreement is successful in its implementation, India will be armed with at least one additional policy towards improving its infrastructure. With oil prices soaring, it will also decrease India's dependence on gas and supply it with more environment-friendly options towards its growing demand for power.

Undoubtedly, the agreement comes with political repercussions. Will the United States attempt to set an example by refusing to violate the Non-Proliferation treaty for a country that might someday rival its financial power? Or will it decide to aid a developing nation and strengthen ties with a country that might be their passport to an economically prolific Asia? Only time will tell.