India’s bid for permanent membership in reformed UNSC, NSG – INSIGHTSIAS

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GS Paper 2:

Syllabus:

  • Prelims: International Relations/Institutions.
  • Mains: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

 

Context:

France has reiterated its commitment to support India’s bid for permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

 

The demand has been supported by:

Four out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have bilaterally expressed support for India’s candidature.

 

About UNSC:

Reference: Read this.

 

Why India deserves a permanent seat at the UNSC and NSG?

  • India is the founding member of the UN.
  • India, till now has been elected for multiple terms for a two-year non-permanent member seat.
  • India has almost twice the number of peacekeepers deployed on the ground than by P5 countries.
  • India being the largest democracy and second-most populous country (soon to become most populous) in the world, are the primary reasons for it to be granted permanent membership in UNSC.
  • India’s acquired status of a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS) in May 1998 also makes India a natural claimant as a permanent member similar to the existing permanent members who are all Nuclear Weapon States.
  • India is the undisputed leader of the Third world countries, as reflected by its leadership role in the Non-Aligned Movement.

 

About NSG:

The 48-member NSG is an elite club of countries that deals with the trade-in nuclear technology and fissile materials besides contributing to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

  • Brought in 1974– in response to the Indian nuclear test (smiling Buddha).
  • It is a Group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
  • The NSG first met in November 1975 in London, and is thus popularly referred to as the “London Club”.
  • Its guidelines are not binding.

 

Benefits associated with NSG membership- Once admitted, an NSG member state gets:

  1. Timely information on nuclear matters.
  2. Contributes by way of information.
  3. Has confirmed credentials.
  4. Can act as an instrument of harmonization and coordination.
  5. Is part of a very transparent process.

 

Opposition of NSG membership bid:

China, one of the five nuclear-weapon states, stridently opposes India’s NSG bid primarily on the grounds that New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

  • Its opposition has made India’s entry into the group difficult as the NSG works on the principle of consensus.

Besides, India’s capacity to project its military power beyond the Indian Ocean region is still to be tested. Further, India heavily relies on weaponry imports from US and Russia for its military requirements.

 

Insta Curious:

Did you know that there are certain Criteria for membership of NSG? Reference: read this.

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About UNSC.
  2. Members.
  3. Election.
  4. Functions.
  5. About the UNSC Presidency.
  6. About the UN Charter.
  7. About NSG.

Mains Link:

Discuss the need for reforms in UNSC.

Sources: Business Standard.

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