INDIAN STUDENTS TO FACE US LICENCE RAJ

Indian scientists and students at US universities may soon need to obtain special licences to work on technologically-sensitive laboratory equipment, to which they have had routine access till now.

According to changes recommended in the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR) - which could come into effect later this year - universities will need licences from the department of commerce before foreign researchers can operate, install, maintain or repair equipment that figures on the US' long list of controlled dual-use technologies.

Dual-use refers to technologies with both military, as well as civilian applications.

The transfer of such controlled technology to a foreign national in the US, like university researchers, is considered a 'deemed export' under EAR. Licences are required by the foreign national in the US if the transfer of that technology to the foreign national's home country needs a licence.

"There's some talk in Washington now about the more stringent enforcement of export control regulations that might impede the ability of every student to participate in every laboratory activity," Richard Levin, president of Yale University, said.

"There might be equipment that's considered technologically sensitive, and that they don't want foreign students to be trained to use. We're talking to the government now about trying to get them to back off from that concern." The fear here, he said, pertains to the area of nuclear proliferation, biological weapons and the like - "strictly motivated by national security."

The list of controlled technologies, said an article in the online science website 'Nature', includes thousands of entries, ranging from things with obvious security implications like "body armour", to more general items like "bacteria".

"There seems to be some sense that the government is likely to move ahead with the changes by March," said Robert Hardy, director of contracts and intellectual property management at the Washington-based Council on Governmental Relations, an association for research universities.

Responding to questions, the US department of commerce's bureau of information and security stated that India accounts for a small percentage of deemed export licence applications currently, and only a small percentage of controlled dual-use exports to India involve deemed exports.

"Indian nationals are eligible for licence exemptions such as Technology and Software Restricted (TSR). In addition, controls on many technologies that would require a licence for other countries' foreign nationals do not apply to Indian nationals," it said.

Laws which control the conditions under which certain information, technologies and commodities can be transmitted overseas or to foreign nationals in the US have been in place in America for over two decades.

For the most part, the fundamental research carried out by universities has been exempt from these rules. However, recommendations by the US department of commerce's Office of Inspector General early last year threatened some of these exemptions. BIS is currently conducting an internal review of these changes and expects to publish any new regulatory proposal or policy guidance later this year.

Essentially, universities have been alarmed by a proposed "narrowing of the definition of 'fundamental research' and widening of the definition of 'deemed exports' when foreign nationals engage in certain research or study, and thereby, come into contact with associated equipment on our campuses," the heads of 22 major US research universities like Yale, MIT and Stanford said in a letter to the government last September.

"We could inadvertently move down a path of requiring US universities to track in detail and restrict their international students' participation in classes and research... It would create two 'classes' of students on our campuses, despite the fact that all international students are screened before they are granted a visa to study here," they said.

They also pointed out that the need for thousands of export licences will require "expanded bureaucracy, delay research and encourage international students to study in other countries."

Since September, commerce officials and university representatives have had numerous meetings to evaluate the impact of any change and clarify licensing requirements for campuses with foreign researchers. Right now, it is impossible to know how changes in the deemed export policy will impact researchers from specific countries of origin, said Mr Hardy.

"Basically, it depends on what particular technology they are working on, whether it's controlled, who controls it and who it's controlled for."

Interestingly, the Inspector General report titled 'Deemed Export Controls May Not Stop the Transfer of Sensitive Technology to Foreign Nationals in the US', mentioned India, along with China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan and Syria as 'countries of concern'.

US universities have already seen a backlash of sorts against America's more stringent visa requirements and student tracking system - this year, international student enrolments fell for the first time in three decades.

Currently, 79,736 Indian students are studying at US campuses. "This could further weaken the attractiveness of US universities for students and scientists from India and other countries," said Mr Hardy.