Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on a US tour. US President Joe Biden warmly welcomed Prime Minister Modi who reached the President’s House this morning Indian time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has gone to the United States on a state visit for the first time, and US President Joe Biden will hold talks today (Thursday).
Several big, important decisions have been taken in the last few years in India-US relations. It is also reported that many such decisions will be taken in the future.
But experts feel that the two countries will not hold talks on anything specific. Today we are going to know about that one thing.
Let us first know what a nuclear powered submarine is.
What is the significance of nuclear powered submarine?
A nuclear powered submarine will have a nuclear reactor. It will be used as fuel for the ship. The ship runs on its own power.
But the biggest feature of this ship is that it cannot be detected by ‘radar’. It can remain under water for as long as it wants without being detected by radar. No other submarine available today can do this.
Such submarines are classified on the basis of their use and the weapons they carry.
But we will talk about that later. Information about submarines used by the US Navy is provided on its website.
At the same time, there is not much information about India’s nuclear submarines in the public domain.
Who is the leading manufacturer of nuclear powered submarines?
In 2017, the Indian Navy chief had said that the government had given permission to build six nuclear powered submarines.
INS Arihant, an Indian-built nuclear powered submarine, successfully launched its mission in 2018.
India has a limited number of nuclear powered submarines despite decades of work in progress.
Looking at the world’s two most powerful nations, the United States has 90 such nuclear submarines. At the same time China is said to have 12 such submarines.
Nuclear submarine cooperation with the US should be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit, says retired Admiral Raja Menon.
But have India and the US ever held talks on this matter before?
India asked America about it. But the US did not agree to that, says Admiral Menon.
Why is India dependent on America?
Why is it important to talk to the US about this matter?
Why didn’t India ask Russia or France? Or cannot such submarines be manufactured in India itself?
“India has various alternatives. But America is far ahead of any other country when it comes to nuclear submarine technology,” Admiral Menon noted.
An Indian embassy official, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said the two countries had never discussed nuclear submarines.
The US will not readily share this technology even with its closest allies. What else can India do in such a situation, he said.
What is the way for India?
There are two types of nuclear powered submarines.
The first type is nuclear powered and carries nuclear weapons. India’s INS Arihant belongs to this category.
The second type is nuclear-powered, but carries conventional weapons that are not nuclear weapons. Other ships and submarines can be targeted from it. India has yet to develop such a submarine.
Experts believe that India and America should talk about these types of ships.
Dr. Yogesh Joshi is an expert on nuclear powered submarines.
India can’t be confident that it can negotiate with the US on nuclear submarines, says Joshi. Because the relationship between India and the US, he said, is not the same as the relationship the US has with Britain and Australia.
The US has recently talked about selling nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the AUKUS agreement. This becomes important when it comes to sharing such modern technology.
Dr. Yogesh Joshi pointed out that the US has sold several new military equipment to India, including anti-submarine weapons, even though it is not an ally.
“Earlier, the US stopped Russia from supplying nuclear submarines to India. But now it doesn’t. In such a situation, India should understand this and talk to the US about it and try to find out what the two countries can do together in this regard,” he said.
“India has the freedom to decide what to do with nuclear powered submarines. There is no restriction on it. This is what India has always wanted,” Dr Joshi said.
Source : BBC News
