Nuclear Security in India Second Edition Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan Rahul Krishna Kritika Singh Arka Biswas Nuclear Security in India Second Edition Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan Rahul Krishna Kritika Singh Arka Biswas Observer Research Foundation 20, Rouse Avenue Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 002, INDIA Ph. : +91-11-43520020, 30220020 Fax : +91-11-43520003, 23210773 E-mail: [email protected] ©2016 Copyright: Observer Research Foundation ISBN: 978-81-86818-20-6 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder (s) and/or the publisher. Typeset by Vinset Advt., Delhi Printed and bound in India Contents About the Authors iii Preface v List of Abbreviations vii Executive Summary xi I Nuclear Security: A Primer 1 II Threat Analysis 11 III Strengths and Weaknesses in India's Nuclear Security 23 IV Best Practices: US, UK, Japan, France 57 V Conclusions 103 VI Enhancing Nuclear Security in India: Recommendations 107 VII Annexures 115 • Public Sector and Industrial Units under the DAE 117 i Contents • Regulatory Inspections in the Nuclear 121 Security Realm in India • Sample Questionnaire 127 • List of Interviewees 135 Endnotes 147 ii About the Authors Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan is Senior Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi. Dr. Rajagopalan joined ORF after a five-year stint at the National Security Council Secretariat (2003-2007), where she was an Assistant Director. Prior to joining the NSCS, she was Research Officer at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She was also a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Politics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan in 2012. She is the author of four books: Nuclear Security in India (2015), Clashing Titans: Military Strategy and Insecurity Among Asian Great Powers (2012), The Dragon's Fire: Chinese Military Strategy and Its Implications for Asia (2009), and Uncertain Eagle: US Military Strategy in Asia (2009). She has also co-authored and edited five other books, including Iran Nuclear Deal: Implications of the Framework Agreement (2015). Her research articles have appeared in edited volumes and in peer-reviewed journals such as India Review, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Air and Space Power Journal, International Journal of Nuclear Law, Strategic Analysis and CLAWS Journal. Other writings have appeared in the Journal of Strategic Studies and Journal of Peace Research and Contemporary South Asia. She has contributed essays to newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Economic Times and Pioneer. She has lectured at Indian military and policy institutions including the Defence Service and Staff College (Wellington), National Defence College (New Delhi), Army War College (Mhow), and the Foreign Service Institute (New Delhi). She has also been invited to speak at international fora like the UN COPUOS (Vienna), Conference on Disarmament (Geneva), UNIDIR (Geneva), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the European Union. Her areas of research interest include Indian and Asian foreign policy and security issues, US foreign policy, space and nuclear security and other arms iii About the Authors control issues. She can be contacted at [email protected]; [email protected]. Rahul Krishna is a student at Delhi Technological University (Formerly DCE) pursuing his undergraduate degree in Electronics Engineering. At the time of writing this report, he was a researcher at ORF. He is a debater, and passionately follows policy debates relating to technology and military strategy and military technology particularly in Europe and North America. Kritika Singh is a Research Intern at ORF's Institute of Security Studies. She is currently working on Nuclear Security and Countering Violent Extremism in Europe and South Asia. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi, and a Master's degree in International History from the London School of Economics where she specialised in Political Islam. Her dissertation was titled, 'Margaret Thatcher and Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and Rise of the Arab-Afghan Mujahideen'. She can be reached at [email protected]. Arka Biswas is a Junior Fellow at ORF's Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative. He is currently pursuing projects related to nuclear developments in Iran, India's nuclear weapons policy, and India's membership in the export control groups. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Stimson Center, Washington DC. His work has appeared in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, Strategic Analysis, and The National Interest, among others. He is a Physics graduate and has a Master's Degree in International Relations from the University of Bristol. He can be reached at [email protected]. iv Preface bserver Research Foundation (ORF) published a special report on India's Onuclear security, titled Nuclear Security in India, in January 2015. The report was one of the first comprehensive examinations of India's nuclear security policies, including an appraisal of how India has fared in implementing them. The report undertook an assessment of threats and challenges that India has continued to encounter both from within and outside. It presented a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of India's nuclear security policies and practices. This included an overview of the legal and institutional architecture and also a critical review of the policies in practice. The report also included an examination of nuclear security undertaken by the UK, France and Japan, with the objective of capturing some of the international best practices in the domain. This helped in providing a fair comparison of nuclear security measures followed by India with those by some of the established nuclear powers. The report benefitted immensely from the extensive field visits conducted both within India and in the three aforementioned countries. Discussions with the security and the atomic energy agencies were particularly useful in developing a nuanced understanding of the subject. A highlight of the report was the set of 20 recommendations laid out in the final chapter. While some of those focused on measures which India could adopt in order to further strengthen its nuclear security, others were informed by the global best practices that could be usefully adapted to the Indian context. The US has remained one of the critical pillars in the area of nuclear security and it has important lessons to offer in the domain. It is with this understanding that the ORF team undertook a field visit to the US, which included extensive discussions with key v Preface stakeholders, including officials from the US government and nuclear laboratories. A few site visits were also conducted, which allowed for a deeper assessment of US nuclear security practices. ORF is publishing the second edition of the report incorporating key findings from the US field visit. The report has also undertaken a fresh review of the threat perception in the light of the recent terrorist attacks in India, including in Pathankot, and in South Asia in general. Furthermore, this edition incorporates an update on India's domestic nuclear security policies and regulations, including the proposed Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill and the commitments India has undertaken at the Nuclear Security Summit, 2016. Based on the findings from the US field visit, this edition includes an additional four recommendations that could be suitably modified to apply to the Indian context. ORF is thankful to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) for funding and its team for facilitating the US field visit, which forms a critical addition in the second edition of the report. However, the report has been entirely prepared by scholars from the ORF. It must be clearly noted that the views expressed in this report are entirely the authors' own and not those of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. vi Abbreviations ACPSR Advisory Committee for Project Safety Review ACS Advisory Committee on Security AEC Atomic Energy Commission AERB Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (India) ANRE Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (Japan) ASN Nuclear Safety Authority (France) BARC Bhabha Atomic Research Centre CBRN Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear CCA Civil Contingencies Act (United Kingdom) CEA Atomic Energy Commission (France) CFR Code of Federal Regulations (US) CIC Inter-ministerial Crisis Cell (France) CISF Central Industrial Security Force CMG Crisis Management Group CNC Civil Nuclear Constabulary CNS Council of Nuclear Safety CPPNM Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material CRCEH Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards CRSANF Committee for Reviewing Security Aspects of Nuclear Facility DBT Design Basis Threat DEA Department of Atomic Energy (India) DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change (United Kingdom) DEN Directorate of Nuclear Energy (France) DEPZ Detailed Emergency Planning Zone vii Abbreviations DOE Department of Energy (US) DOT Department of Transportation (US) DP&S Directorate of Purchase and Stores DRDO Defence Research and Development Organisation DU Delhi University EDF Électricité de France EPZ Emergency Planning Zone ESL Environmental Survey