India’s role in global anti-proliferation: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Being a non-NPT state with advanced nuclear capability, India’s contributions to the non-proliferation movement have often been scrutinized. India was for long treated as part of the ‘proliferation problem’. Since the 1998 tests, there is a steady process of integrating India with the international nuclear community. However, India is reluctant to assimilate with many of the US-promoted counter-proliferation initiatives though it has largely adopted the normative standards of the NPT system. This paper analyses India’s rendezvous with the non-proliferation regime and examines the likely direction of India’s approach towards anti-proliferation after the July 2005 India–US nuclear cooperation agreement. © 2008 Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.