India dilutes anti-proliferation rules.

The SCOMET list , notified under the amended Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act of 1992 reflects India’s commitment to global anti-proliferation efforts. Together with other supportive legislations i.e Weapons of mass destruction Act 2005, the list regulates import and export of dual use technologies. Dual use goods and services are classifies as those tradable that are needed for making common consumer and capital goods but also weapons and munitions including atomic and biological ones.
Notification 93 of 6th January 2012 http://164.100.9.245/Exim/2000/NOT/NOT11/not9310.pdf issued by the Director general of Foreign Trade dilutes these rules in favor of companies operative in India’s special economic zones(SEZ). SEZs are meant to be future power houses of it export economy. Earlier, exporters needed export licenses to supply into SEZ based factories. This requirement has been now dispensed with after the notification 93 came in force. Though the requirement of export licensing for shipments from SEZs remains, the catch lies in liberal border controls that Indian customs administers in case of SEZ exporters. Goods stuffed out of SEZ factories do not require as rigorous customs examination at their port of exports as those arriving from domestic tariff zones. This is likely to increase the incentive for mis-declaration of dual use goods that can be shipped out without export licenses.
The strengthening of export controls that happened during negotiations leading to Indo-US nuclear deal in 2006 had started hurting the free flow of high-technology exports. To ease that pressure , government has now given them a breather through notification 93. Any measure violations ,if noticed in future, of anti-proliferation measures is likely to put the Government under international pressure particularly when its nuclear program is now under greater global scrutiny due to expanding civilian nuclear energy sector.