The Manmohan Singh government may accede to an international liability treaty in the run-up to President Barack Obama's visit next month as a means of short-circuiting American pressure to amend the recently passed nuclear liability Act.
In a September 2008 letter of intent, India told the U.S. it would sign the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). American nuclear suppliers had insisted on this because they said the existing Indian and international law would leave them exposed to potentially unlimited claims for damages by Indian victims in the event of a nuclear accident involving U.S.-supplied reactors.
The CSC prescribes in its annexe a draft national law that signatories are supposed to model their domestic legislation on. India believes its new liability law conforms to the CSC but the U.S. disagrees. In specific, American officials say the Indian provisions on the nuclear operator's right of recourse against a supplier (Section 17(b)) and on allowing tortuous and criminal liability (Section 46) in the event of an accident are incompatible with the international convention.
Exit route
Though the U.S. is demanding changes in the law to accommodate the concerns of American companies, the only diplomatic leg it has to stand on is India's September 2008 LoI. But by calling out New Delhi for “going back on its September 2008 commitment to sign the CSC,” the American side has provided an exit route for India. Which is to sign the treaty and announce the fulfilment of the last pending American condition for nuclear commerce between the two countries to begin.
Sources said India could well take such a step before Mr. Obama comes since the only requirement for accession is a signature. The CSC has no provision for one signatory to object to another's national law or for the International Atomic Energy Agency — which is the depository authority — to pass judgment on this issue.
“We said we would sign the CSC and we are going to do that. We never said we will give up, for example, criminal liability,” the sources said, noting that U.S. membership of the CSC did not mean its national laws would no longer apply.
Asked whether an Indian signature was imminent, all that the sources were prepared to say was “when we sign, you will know.” They said India's desire to join the CSC predated the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement by several years and was linked to its desire to be in a position to deal with cross-border nuclear accidents.
Indian officials also believe that the continuing U.S. stridency on the supplier liability issue springs from its fear that the provisions India introduced into its liability law might find takers in other countries going in for nuclear energy expansion.
Acknowledging that U.S. and even Indian suppliers had reservations about the new liability Act, the sources said the government was willing to “sit down and explain to them how the law would work.” But they ruled out any change or amendment in its provisions.
Obama "Salesman of the year". Lots of news agency says that Obama is not visiting the Taj Mahal, he is not interested in Taj Mahal , He want to raise money by selling planes and other defence things and how to bring out United States from rescission by selling those things to India
Only some middlemen would benefit and common man will lose
The obsession with Pakistan is both laughable and sad. Why not discuss matters that make a difference to the regular folk of India(you know, the 800 million that the rest of Bharat likes to forget).
One should not get carried away by ANY expectations and rather concentrate on what is doable and in the best strategic interests of India!!! In the first instance, India needs to adjust to the fact that this President followed in quick order by the Russian and French Presidents are all coming for one basic reason, they realize that THEY need India's economic muscle more than India needs ANYTHING from them, and this includes some of the over-pricedmilitary items that are being showcased. India needs to flex its muscle and be blunt, but polite. The US Prez came into power with much fanfare and a Nobel Award that was questionable to say the least, he now needs to the good graces of India to stifle major revolts even in his own Democratic party. So,India needs to be able to play hardball - the Americans will respect that, even if they dont like it.
The article is a beautiful summary of the challenges facing our foreign policy babus vis-a-vis US and Af-Pak. I don't know if our babus are up to the task, but certainly I hope they don't get carried away by the vague "strategic partnership" language similar to the "special relationship" lingo between Blair and Clinton
This is a timely article and India should reflect on themes contained herein. The single preoccupation in the US is with turning the economy around and the current showing by the Democrats in the forthcoming elections is cause for serious concern to President Obama. It is therefore in Foreign Affairs that the attention will shift because the Presidential elections in two years will focus on American successes. Obama needs India to chalk up a success story and the theater will be Af-Pak. There is little doubt that the US will engage in overdrive diplomacy in order to complete the pull-out before the Prseidential elections. After the disaster in Iraq, US voters will look for better news from AfPak and I am convinced that the Clinton/Petreas team will deliver. India, therefore is important in this equation but we must understand the context. The reality is that the realtions between the US and India has come of age and we need not worry about US compromising India's interests
Like other visits nothing is going to come out of this one, excepts that the TV crew will be busy for a couple of days.
As rightly pointed out by columinist it is high time that we should engage in talks with Obama in areas like science and technology,trade, exploration of shale gas technology etc. As far as Af-Pak area is concerned we should not buckle under any one's pressure.
You have very well pointed out the importance of our diplomatic machinery having to work overtime to set the right perceptions and send the right messages to the US and other nations. Sometimes, perceptions are more important than we think they are.
You can expect the main strategic implementation in his trip. Sending his home country the message that Indian trade would fetch so many thousands of Jobs in America. What else? He is all talk and no work.
We cannot expect more from President Mr. Obama's visit to India next month. People the world over expected more from the President as soon as he was elected. But belying the expectations nothing solid had emerged so far from the US. US is reeling under recession and unemployment. Mr President went on to withdraw the tax holiday granted to the US BPO's that outsourced jobs mainly to India and other countries. Though there are world class universities of the world are housed in the US, students of the US are average and he wants this to change. Many banks in the US have been liquidated. The US economy is in doldrums. He wants silicon cities like Bangalore in all important US cities. He has his own head ache. He wants to settle the Kashmir issue for a temporary seat in the UNSC. He wants the Indo-US deal to the settle amicably. Only agreements favorable to the US alone will be signed during his visit and nothing more and nothing less.
As rightly pointed out by the author, a balance has to be maintained with respect to the nature of the discussions held with the the US President and his delegation. But I would say more importance has to be given to the outstanding bilateral economic relations rather than the strategic interests of US in the Af-Pak or the Kashmir Valley. Time and again, we have seen that India's legitimate concerns regarding the US financial aid to Pakistan have gone to deaf ears. What can be concluded from this is that the US strategic policies in the Indian sub-continent depends on a host of other bilateral ties and would not always cater to the Indian demands. Nonetheless, we can hold deliberations on numerous economic issues, the civil nuclear deal and the outsourcing limitations being most pertinent amongst all. Discussions focusing more on bilateral issues would mutually help both the nations and make this opportunity a success.
India should not ask anything of the visiting President. Let him have a good visit. He is going to be coming to India after a brutal mid-term election when his party would have surrendered the majority in the House and barely have a majority in the Senate. Mr. Cool will appreciate some down time. He loves adoring crowds and the hosts should make him feel like a Billion Bucks. Let him draw his own conclusions as to why India did not ask anything of him on his visit. But please welcome him so he will want to keep coming back before he leaves office.
While the hype and anticipation surrounding the US President's visit is typical as well as justified, India must not lose focus amidst the glitz. Its own citizens' needs must always be first, encouraging FDIs at the cost of endangering the self-dependence of our people can be likened to sitting between two chairs and falling down in the process. Moreover, as far as US treatment of Pakistan and Afghanistan is concerned, it has always treated Pakistan with kid-gloves owing to the latter's cultural proximity and influence over the US's bette-noir and nemesis Afghanistan. This is the time for India to express solidarity with its belligerent neighbour which is currently in the grips of one of the worst, most lethal and, intense and protracted insurgencies with easy entry from the Afghan border compounding problems for them. Its seems the snakes it harboured in its bosom are finally coming back to bite them.
President Obama has two eyes one on Pakistan where he has invested heavily to the extent of $2 billion while he has offered $2 million to India which is the biggest democratic country in the world, but his visit is just to see pulse of the Govt, as to see how far there are close to US or USSR and how can US make India still come closer and kept away from China, which is becoming the world power and US economy is dwindling and within antoher 10 years India and China become the most powerful nations in the world.Hence India has to look after its relationship with all neighbours and also ensure equal distance from all of them more so China. And India has to tell Obama that its investment in Pakistan is a waste and a bad investment since Pakistan has given its Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to China for its control against India.
This is an excellent article if the Government in Delhi understands the contents and their implications for India. US has been taking India for a long ride for a long time and India herself did not do what was necessary to take care of Pakistan when the opportunities presented themselves. Shameful! Now that Obama is coming to India, for business deals and to exploit Indian market no doubt, it is time for India to tell Obama and US bluntly-- Look we have been very patient with Pakistan until now. The stage when we cannot take Pakistan's duplicity, sabotage and terrorism any more, has become and we will take care of Pakistan at all costs unless Pakistan stops for good undermining India. Has India got the gumption, the backbone and the national pride to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and that India has come to the end of its patience. I have my serious doubts considering India's cowardly behavior in the past.Wake up India!
Instead of merely exchanging gifts, lavish dinners, and photo sessions, hopefully the US and India use this opportunity to arrive at pragmatic solutions to the numerous challenges that confront the world including the economic chaos that prevail all over.
This article is a caveat for the Indian government of what not to expect during Obama's visit. I really felt preposterous when the author pointed out about how the Pakistan government has vituperated us in the west and I feel Obama's visit would be the right time for us to corroborate to the west of what we really stand for. It's also high time that we should beef up our economic ties with U.S.
If India truly want to become a regional power, India can't afford to have an incompetent bureaucracy that can't get anything done. China is not going to wait for India to catch up. Bad governance means no seat at the UNSC high table either.
Singing the CSC before the President arrives in India will be a good augury for welcoming the US President and will greatly gladden the US hearts. There is no doubt that he will be welcomed by lakhs of our people wherever he visits. He is accompanied by a delegation of as many as 215 American CEOs who expect to return with bagful of contracts with our Indian counterparts. This is welcome too for international trade is the main basis of global relations to grow. The main concern of our people is what our companies are going to get by way of orders, tie-ups etc. to accelerate not only our economic development but also of employment in the manufacturing sector. There are lingering doubts on this aspect as in the last meet of the Indo-US CEOs, while the American companies not only gave a long list of their demands for liberalization in various fields but also gave almost a notice to our minister that they expected these to be fulfilled before their President visited India. But our CEOs were noticeably silent; at any rate there was no news for the public on this front. I hope that will not be the case now. The responsibility for this rests solely on our corporates, apex business chambers and our ministers for commerce, trade, finance and foreign affairs. In fact, each one of them will be on test on how effectively they functioned to derive the maximum benefit from this rare visit of the US President to our country. It is much important and more urgent for business relations to grow giving a fillip to our economic growth rather than pursue the distant dream of becoming a permanent member of UNSC with the help of US. However, a few aspects of US behaviour do not go well with our public such as for instance cutting as many as 50 trees in Mumbai to enhance the security is something that will hurt the Mumbaikars. Similarly, the ultimate vetting of the Indian business CEOs with the President by the US authorities irks us; This is the responsibility of the host nation. Notwithstanding these minor irritants, it is hoped that both India and US will gain substantially by this visit. It is expected of the mainline dailies such as yours to give a full account of the net outcome of the visit soon thereafter for the benefit of the people.
Please Email the Editor