Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj stated that China had created “procedural hurdles” by particularly questioning how a non-NPT signatory could become a member and blocked India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

“I am saying it today on the floor of the house that China introduced procedural hurdles, the main being on whether a non-NPT state can have NSG status. It is true that this was the reason for the non-decision on India’s application,” Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha, while replying to a question raised by Sugata Bose of the TMC.

It did not mean that the NSG doors were closed to India forever and added that the government is engaging with China to iron out differences. “If someone says ‘no’ once, it does not mean he won’t agree at all, like GST, almost all parties have agreed to it but the Congress. That does not mean it it will never agree (to the GST bill),” Swaraj said.

The minister denied suggestions that the failure to enter the elite nuclear club was a ‘huge diplomatic snub’. She argued that Indian diplomacy has made its mark, as, she added, people earlier would ask if India could make it to the NSG. “Now the question has changed to ‘when will India become a member?’,” she said in the presence of the Prime Minister.

“It would create a predictable environment for large investments required for setting up nuclear power plants in India. It would also allow the country to meet its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) pledge of 40 per cent of its power capacity coming from non-fossil sources by 2030,” she said.

By Premji