WASHINGTON: The US removed Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center, Bhabha Atomic Research Center and Indian Rare Earths from a list of entities that are subject to export controls for specified goods from US companies.
The US Bureau of Industry and Security said on Wednesday that these removals will “support US foreign policy objectives by reducing barriers to advanced energy cooperation, including joint research and development and science and technology cooperation, towards shared energy security needs and goals.”
“The United States and India share a commitment to advancing peaceful nuclear cooperation and associated research and development activities, with strengthened science and technology cooperation over the past several years that has benefitted both countries and their partner countries around the world, ” it added.
“The removal of the three Indian entities will enable closer cooperation between the United States and India to secure more resilient critical minerals and clean energy supply chains, ” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Matthew Borman. “This action aligns with and supports the overall ambition and strategic direction of the US-India partnership.”
The US had added these and other Indian organisations to the Entity List after the May 1998 nuclear tests. Nine of them were removed from the Entity List in 2015 during President Barack Obama’s administration. They were Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL), four subordinates of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) — Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Defense Research and Development Lab (DRDL), Missile Research and Development Complex and Solid State Physics Laboratory; and four subordinates of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) — Liquid Propulsion Systems Center, Solid Propellant Space Booster Plant (SPROB), Sriharikota Space Center (SHAR), and Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC).
Some Indian organisations were taken off the list in 2010, during President Obama’s first visit to India.
On Wednesday, the BIS also announced the addition of 11 Chinese organisations to this Entity List. Ten entities were added due to their advancement of the PRC’s military modernisation through the development and integration of advanced artificial intelligence research, the BIS said.
One entity was added for its involvement in the development of lithography technology for advanced-node fabrication facilities in China. This technology will enable indigenous production in China of advanced integrated circuits for military end-use.