Indian Regulatory Framework for Strategic Trade Management

Abstract

India has a well-developed regulatory system to manage strategic trade control. The Indian government publishes handbook, notices and notifications regularly. Earlier, hard copies of the rules and regulation were the sources of information of the Indian regulation. Today, online information also has increased easy accessibility as well as transparency. The regulatory framework has detailed rules and procedures to implement international obligations. Some Indian laws may follow international best practices; but by and large, specifics or details come through the regulatory system. The Indian licensing system is part of strategic trade management. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade is the key or nodal organisation for licensing, but the Department of Atomic Energy and the Ministry of Defence also give license in different categories of items. In India, the final decision on licensing is taken by the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on a consensus. All the licensing departments lay down detailed criteria for licensing. The Indian strategic trade management system has all the dominant practices used in the world for regulating sensitive trade in its regulatory framework. The momentum released by the India–United States civil nuclear energy initiative and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 brought India closer to the global export control order. In the process of joining the four multilateral export control regimes, India has harmonised its export control system with all the four regimes, and has thus further integrated itself with the global export control order. To keep the regulatory system dynamic, India has been effecting changes in it quite frequently.