India’s Role in International Arms Control Conventions and Organizations

International Organisations and Conventions play crucial roles in global efforts to control and manage weapons of mass destruction. India’s participation in these treaties and groups, like the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention, reflects its commitment to international disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.

International Organizations and Arms Control Conventions

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC): It effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons. 

• It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). 
• India has signed and ratified the convention. 

• Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): It is the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention based in Hague, Netherlands, which oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons. 
  • India is a signatory and party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. [UPSC 2016]
• Australia Group: It is an informal forum of countries which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons. 
  • All states participating in the Australia Group are parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and do not undertake any legally binding obligations. 
  • India was admitted into the group in 2018. 
• Wassenaar Arrangement:  The Wassenaar Arrangement is the first multilateral body focused on export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, and it comprises 42 states (including India). 
  • It is consensus-based, with decisions taken on a politically binding basis. 
• Missile Technology Control Regime: The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal political understanding among states that seeks to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. 
  • It places particular focus on missiles capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kg to a distance of at least 300 km-so called ‘Category I’ or ‘MTCR-class’ missiles. 
  • Currently, 35 countries are members of the MTCR, including India (2016).
• Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG): The NSG is a group of forty-eight nuclear supplier countries that seeks to ensure that nuclear trade for peaceful purposes does not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. 
  • India is not a member of the NSG, the main reason being its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: It bans all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes. 
  • The 1996 treaty has so far been signed by 183 states and ratified by 162 states, yet not in force. 
  • The treaty awaits signature and ratification from India, Pakistan, and North Korea and, in addition, requires the United States, China, Israel, Iran and Egypt (which have already signed) to formally ratify it.
• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): It is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
  • India has not signed the NPT. 
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW): Opened for signature in 2017, it prohibits States Parties from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. 
  • The treaty entered into force on 22 January 2021.
  • India has neither signed nor ratified it.

Conclusion

India’s involvement in international organisations and conventions related to arms control demonstrates its stance on global security and disarmament. 

• While participating actively in some agreements like the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Australia Group, India maintains strategic decisions regarding treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, aligning with its national security interests.

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