India admitted to Australia Group

India admitted to Australia Group

Context

India on Friday joined the Australia Group saying that the membership will be mutually beneficial

What is Australia group?

The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries which, through the harmonisation of export controls, seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons. Coordination of national export control measures assists Australia Group participants to fulfil their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible

Significance

• India’s entry shows that our export controls and safeguards for biological and chemical agents, equipments and technologies meet the benchmarks established by the international community
• The entry is a show of support from the international community for India’s non-proliferation records
• It is understood that the membership will also boost India’s membership bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group which is being opposed by China

Backdrop

India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) last year

• The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is a multilateral export control regime