U.S. Entity List Removal Not Of Much Help: India
Thursday, 17 November 2011, 22:55 IST   |    1 Comments
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New Delhi: Nearly a year after the U.S. lifted dual-use technology export ban to its space and defence institutions, India said the Obama administration's decision has not helped much as the American export regulation was stringent enough to make its availability difficult. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief V.K. Saraswat told reporters here that he, however, believed the situation will change for the better due to India's impeccable record of non-proliferation of such defence technologies to other countries. "I do not think removal of some DRDO labs from the Entity List by the U.S. has changed anything for us. The American export regulations for dual-use technologies and items need stringent clearances from their commerce and defence departments," Saraswat said when asked if the American policy announced during US President Barack Obama's visit last November and implemented in January this year had helped India in anyway. "Whether or now we are with Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the export rules and regulations apply for us. We have to go through the process. It is not an easy process and it becomes difficult to acquire them," he said. "Our experience has been these regulations make it more difficult," he added. However, he sounded a positive note, saying the growing relations between the two countries could help change the situation in the future. "Particularly, due to the impeccable track record we have of non-proliferation of these defence technologies," he added. Saraswat said there was a shift taking place in the approach and will ensure access to critical technologies in the future. "I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope confidence will prevail one day as far as sharing of technology is concerned," he added. The Indian institutions that were removed from the restrictive Entity List for denying technologies were Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), a defence public sector undertaking manufacturing missiles; DRDO laboratories Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Defence Research and Development Lab (DRDL), Missile Research and Development Complex, and Solid State Physics Laboratory; and Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant (SPROB), Sriharikota Space Centre (SHAR), and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
Source: IANS
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