U.S. Nuclear Cooperation With India: Issues for Congress

Abstract

As part of the 1950s-era Atoms for Peace program, the United States actively promoted nuclear energy cooperation with India from the mid-1950s, building nuclear reactors (Tarapur), providing heavy water for the CIRUS reactor, and allowing Indian scientists to study at U.S. nuclear laboratories. When other nations joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968, however, India refused to join the treaty on the basis that it was discriminatory. In 1974, India exploded a peaceful nuclear device, demonstrating that nuclear technology transferred for peaceful purposes could be used to produce nuclear weapons. As a result, the United States has refused nuclear cooperation with India for twenty-five years and has tried to convince other states to do the same.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 29, 2005
Accession Number
ADA454216

Entities

People

  • Sharon Squassoni

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Congress
  • Cooperation
  • Explosive Devices
  • Explosives
  • Export Controls
  • Fissile Materials
  • Heavy Water
  • Materials
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security