Done deal?

All the news channels are going gaga calling it a historic day for India & an end to the nuclear apartheid. The NSG's unconditional waiver at Vienna means the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement is almost a done deal now barring last minute hiccups in the US Senate where it goes under vote at the end of this month.

Credit goes to the team of negotiators led on the Indian side by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and on the US side by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. This was truly a major foreign policy & diplomatic initiative lasting over a long & convoluted 3 years.

There were spoilers of course, not the least of these being old snake-in-the-grass China. That is a country that India is more & more likely to run into in the future on various issues.

This deal will also mark unprecedented closeness between India & the US. The payoffs will be positive for both sides - India gains in advanced nuclear tech, while the US will win most of the contracts & dare I say, probably the MRCA contract too.

Whatever the hidden clauses, & whatever the compromises that Indian negotiators have made (which shall be revealed in due course of time), I'm all for this deal if it ends up benefiting the average guy on the street. Also, the improved relations with the US will prove a key factor in future. With a neighbourhood as hostile & dangerous as ours, we need all the friends we can get.