Relax, high-tech transfer route is safe: India to US

Known as the ‘Next Steps in Strategic Partnership’ (NSSP), the agreement not only buried the Cold War hatchet between India and the US formally, but also promised to take the relationship forward in the ‘‘quartet’’ issues — civilian nuclear safety, high-technology trade, space and missile defence.

The dialogue has since failed to take off because Washington insisted New Delhi provide ‘‘assurances’’ they would not use this technology for dual-use purposes or pass it on to third countries.

It is also believed that the US wanted the right to carry out inspections in organisations that would utilise these ‘‘dual-use’’ components, such as in space, but India did not agree.

The US also wanted the right to inspect technology or equipment with US components, which India bought from other countries.

After the successful space summit in Bangalore last week, where India and the US — NASA and ISRO — promised to collaborate in path-breaking areas such as telemedicine, weather forecasting, etc., it seems there has been considerable movement forward on the ‘‘assurances’’ front.

In the military domain, India and the US have a general agreement on the security of information (GSOMIA), signed in 2001. The new agreement will focus on a similar GSOMIA-plus for the civilian sector, analysts said.

The fresh understanding is expected to significantly dispel the widely prevalent impression that the new government doesn’t believe in a ‘‘special relationship’’ with the US.