N-deal
I have been wanting to write this for sometime. Let me make this clear. I am no US lover when it comes to their foreign policies.
But there is something called durable competitive advantage. Warren Buffet is always fond of talking about them.
I guess some entities - be it countries or companies have that. US is one of them. The way to play with those entities is to partner with them but be clear on our priorities. I don’t think its a zero sum game. There is lot of brouhaha going on about this being a stake sale to the US. Our PM is for once right in drawing clear parallels to the economic liberalization reforms and and how that got dubbed as a stake sale too.
What exactly is the issue? The main selling point of those who oppose this deal is the reputation of US. I agree that is a concern.
On the other hand, there is nothing concrete to suggest we are compromising on our national interest. Are we signing NPT? No.
Do we have exit route? Yes.
Assuming this deal is not perfect, do we have any alternate plans to meet our energy requirements? Nothing concrete so far.
I did read about thorium resources in india but not sure how that can be capitalized. How better is that route than the US deal? One blogger says we have 80% of the world’s thorium reserves, another web site says we have 30%. Again no clear answers.
I do not think the US can treat India the way it has treated other countries simply because India is too huge a market for US corporates.
There is always an element of risk and uncertainty in any kind of decision making, let alone the one which has a nation’s progress at stake. What I look for in these situations is the long term perspective.
Given all this, I think the risk taken by our PM seems to be a calculated risk. If nothing else, this would be seen as a risk which had a positive approach rather than fear and suspicion as propounded by the left.
Forget everything, our PM should be appreciated for just taking the time to think about our energy requirements in the future.
That in itself is a kind of achievement among Indian politicians.
Bottomline: Notwithstanding my allergy to US foreign policy, I would support the N-deal.
PS: Had this in my draft for far too long 
August 13th, 2008 at 6:27 am
PK, I read that even before the first atomic bomb was developed, the nuclear reactor in Trombay was in place or was in progress. So why are we underestimating our capabilities? Inspite of not signing NPT, we were able to create Nuclear reactors on our own, maybe with little help with Russia - that itself is a stupendous achievement isnt it? One one side we complain about not making scientific advancements and on other hand we just throw ourselves into accept foreign technology.
Maybe the nuclear deal is also like a trap for making India sign the NPT. Few countries have already made the reservations on India not signing the NPT but still getting assistance from US.
And regarding Thorium, I think India had about 20-30% of the world’s thorium reserves.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Ravi
Actually i have a doubt. Ivlo capability namba kitte ivlo naala irundhiruku na why did we wait till this N-deal from US to talk about our capability?
What has been done till now?
Ivlo naal summa irundhutu, ippo US na udaney,’aang idhellam namo US help illamale nalla seyvom’ nu sonna konjam logicaly idikudhu.
What prevented us?
As I mentioned, there is always an element of uncertainty and risk in any key decisions. This N-deal is no exception.
There is something called ‘Acting in good faith’. We shud do some ground work looking for obvious pitfalls and move ahead.
‘Ahaa ivan vandhaale edhuvo villangam irukkum’ nu nenachu bayanthutte utkarndhu irukaradhu is not going to take us anywhere.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Another way to look at it.
Say, there are two options for a company to acquire a technology
Option A: Spend money on R and D and develop it inhouse.
Advantage - we have absolute control
minus - takes time. we are not sure if we can do it
Option B: Get into a deal with the company who hold this technology.
advantage - faster access to technology and better results
minus - not complete control
there are no clear answers. it all depends on the output expected within the timeframe.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Well, I am still thinking about writing about it……though I strongly feel about it!!
August 14th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Even this in a draft stage
Have seen a lot on draft stage for this deal 
No comments on the rest
August 14th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Naveen
AAR
well..