So did India manage to build what it wanted?

Yes, but it took India 15 years to develop the necessary technologies. These were available with other countries but the restrictive MTCR (and economic sanctions imposed on India following the 1998 nuclear tests) prevented them from sharing it with India, In many cases, Indian scientists had to reinvent the wheel - while this was possible, it did cost India much time.

This Indian Express report says, when Kalam took over as DRDO chief, the indigenous content in the missile systems was 30 per cent. By the time Kalam retired, DRDO had achieved 50 per cent indigenisation.

Many projects got stuck for decades. While the Agni missile systems can be counted as a success, it took us decades to finish certain systems in the Light Combat Aircraft project, for example. Programs like the Arjun tank and the Akash SAM systems were also delayed by many years because of sanctions.



But now India has finally been admitted into MTCR. It had applied for the membership last year. MTCR is a consensus group and Monday was the last day for any member to raise objections to India’s entry and none did.



What are the benefits of being in the MTCR group?



While some technologies have been mastered there are still many cutting edge areas where India lags behind. Now that India is a member of the MTCR it can import high-end military technologies and systems like the Predator drones (favourite tool of the CIA - employed to hunt and kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan) from the US. It can engage in the export of missile technology to its friends. It is in talks with Vietnam to provide BrahMos missiles. The US has just lifted military sanctions on Vietnam. President Obama was in the country just two weeks back.

Plus, India’s chances of getting admitted into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) have also improved with the entry into MTCR because the 34 nations that are part of the MTCR also form the core of the NSG.

However, the biggest takeaway from all this is that the systematic apartheid against India has come to an end. But it has only come after India has proved to be capable of building systems and developing technologies that are denied to it.