India-US Nuclear Deal: Strategic Leap or Sovereignty Slip? The 2008 Pact's Long Shadow

• The 2008 India-US 123 Agreement aimed to end India's nuclear isolation, allowing global nuclear commerce despite not being an NPT signatory.
• Critics argue the deal involved concessions, particularly the mandatory 'Separation Plan' dividing India's nuclear program into civil and military components.
• India committed to placing 14 of its 22 power reactors, including future ones, under permanent IAEA inspection ('safeguards in perpetuity').
• The 'Hyde Act' required annual US presidential reports on India's compliance, raising concerns about external oversight on domestic energy infrastructure.
• The deal barred transfer of sensitive enrichment/reprocessing technologies and was contingent on India's unilateral nuclear testing moratorium, impacting strategic autonomy.