No US waiver to DRDO on technology imports: Antony

New Delhi: The US has removed four Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) labs from the restricting Entity List that regulates technology exports, but it has not provided any waiver in acquiring technology without license or any exemption from existing obligations concerning exports, the Lok Sabha (Indian Lower House of Parliament) was informed Tuesday.

Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurien Antony, in a written reply to a question, said the DRDO’s Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Delhi-based Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), Hyderabad-based Research Center Imarat (RCI) and Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) were the laboratories “removed” from the US Entity List of Export Administration Regulation (EAR).

“However, no waiver in acquiring technology without license or exemption from the existing obligations of adherence to the general prohibitions concerning export or re-export or using the acquired technology in contravention to the US laws or its end-use as stated in the end-use certificate by the indenting laboratory has been provided,” Antony said.

He also made it clear that technology export required clearance from the US government and each request was reviewed on a case-to-case basis.

“The usage or import of technologies or systems by DRDO laboratories will be subject to periodic monitoring or inspection by the US agencies,” he said.

“Pre-license checks and post-shipment verifications were permitted as the part of India-US End Use Visit Agreement signed in September 2004. However, such visits have been very few, and no visits have taken place since 2009,” he added.