- Questions on treaties usually test the year, the leaders who signed and the main outcome.
- Several older treaties are back in the news — the Indus Waters Treaty was placed in abeyance by India in April 2025, and the 30-year Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh expires in December 2026.
- India has stayed out of the NPT and CTBT, calling them discriminatory, but has joined three of the four export-control regimes.
India–Pakistan
| Agreement | Year | Signed by / outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Indus Waters Treaty | 1960 | Nehru and Ayub Khan, brokered by the World Bank: the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Satluj) to India, the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) mainly to Pakistan. Placed in abeyance by India on April 23, 2025 |
| Tashkent Declaration | January 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri and Ayub Khan, mediated by the USSR, after the 1965 war; Shastri died in Tashkent the next day |
| Simla Agreement | July 2, 1972 | Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the 1971 war; disputes to be settled bilaterally; the ceasefire line became the Line of Control |
| Lahore Declaration | February 1999 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, after Vajpayee's bus journey to Lahore |
India–Bangladesh
- Ganga Water Sharing Treaty (December 1996) — a 30-year agreement on sharing dry-season flows at Farakka; it runs until December 2026.
- Land Boundary Agreement — first signed in 1974 and implemented through the 100th Constitutional Amendment (2015). On July 31, 2015, 111 Indian enclaves were transferred to Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves to India.
Indus Waters Treaty1960
TashkentJan 1966
SimlaJuly 2, 1972
Ganga TreatyDec 1996 (30 yrs)
LBA100th Amendment, 2015
Indo-US nuclear deal2008
Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka
- India–Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1950) — allows open borders and lets citizens of each country live and work in the other. The Mahakali Treaty (1996) covers the integrated development of the Mahakali river, including the Pancheshwar project.
- India–Bhutan Friendship Treaty (1949), revised in 2007 to remove the clause that Bhutan would be "guided by" India on foreign affairs.
- India–Sri Lanka Accord (1987) — Rajiv Gandhi and J.R. Jayewardene; led to the 13th Amendment of Sri Lanka's constitution (provincial councils) and the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force.
Russia, the USA and West Asia
| Agreement | Year | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation | August 1971 | Signed months before the 1971 war; gave India diplomatic and military backing |
| India–US Civil Nuclear Agreement ("123 Agreement") | 2008 | Ended India's nuclear isolation; the NSG granted India a one-time waiver in September 2008 |
| India–US foundational defence agreements | 2016–2020 | LEMOA (2016, logistics), COMCASA (2018, secure communications), BECA (2020, geospatial intelligence) |
| Chabahar Port (Iran) | May 2024 | A 10-year agreement for India Ports Global Limited to operate the Shahid Beheshti terminal — India's route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that bypasses Pakistan |
India and Nuclear / Export-Control Regimes
| Regime | Deals with | India's status |
|---|---|---|
| NPT (1968) | Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons | Not signed — India calls it discriminatory, as it recognises only five nuclear-weapon states |
| CTBT (1996) | Ban on all nuclear test explosions | Not signed; India keeps a voluntary moratorium on testing since 1998 |
| Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) | Missiles and drones | Member since 2016 |
| Wassenaar Arrangement | Conventional arms and dual-use goods | Member since 2017 |
| Australia Group | Chemical and biological weapons | Member since 2018 |
| Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) | Trade in nuclear material and technology | Not a member — its bid has been blocked, mainly by China |
India's nuclear doctrine (2003) rests on "no first use" and credible minimum deterrence. India conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1974 ("Smiling Buddha") and 1998 (Operation Shakti).
- Treaty ↔ signatories: Tashkent (Shastri–Ayub), Simla (Indira–Bhutto), Lahore (Vajpayee–Sharif).
- Regime membership: "India is a member of which of the following?" — MTCR, Wassenaar and the Australia Group, but not the NSG.
- Constitutional link: the 100th Amendment implemented the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh.
Q1. The Simla Agreement of 1972 was signed by:
✅ Answer: (a) Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
💡 Explanation: It was signed on July 2, 1972, after the 1971 war.
Q2. India's Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh was implemented through the:
✅ Answer: (c) 100th Amendment
💡 Explanation: The 100th Constitutional Amendment (2015) allowed the exchange of enclaves.
Q3. India is NOT a member of which of the following?
✅ Answer: (d) Nuclear Suppliers Group
💡 Explanation: India joined the MTCR (2016), Wassenaar (2017) and the Australia Group (2018), but its NSG bid is pending.
Q4. The Tashkent Declaration (1966) was mediated by:
✅ Answer: (b) The USSR
💡 Explanation: Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin hosted the talks in Tashkent.
Q5. The Ganga Water Sharing Treaty signed with Bangladesh in 1996 was for a period of:
✅ Answer: (a) 30 years
💡 Explanation: The 30-year treaty on sharing water at Farakka runs until December 2026.
🔁 Revise in 60 Seconds
- Pakistan: Indus 1960 → Tashkent 1966 → Simla 1972 → Lahore 1999.
- Bangladesh: Ganga Treaty 1996 (30 yrs, Farakka); LBA via 100th Amendment, enclaves swapped July 31, 2015.
- USA: 123 Agreement 2008; LEMOA 2016, COMCASA 2018, BECA 2020.
- India in MTCR (2016), Wassenaar (2017), Australia Group (2018); not in NPT, CTBT, NSG.
📌 Prelims Traps to Avoid
- ✘ India has not signed the NPT or CTBT.
- ✘ The NSG gave India a waiver (2008) but not membership.
- ✘ The Bhutan treaty of 1949 was revised in 2007, not replaced by a new treaty.
Why has India not signed the NPT?
India considers the NPT discriminatory because it recognises only five countries that tested nuclear weapons before 1967 as nuclear-weapon states and asks all others to give up the option. India instead follows a doctrine of no first use and credible minimum deterrence.
What was the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh?
An agreement, first signed in 1974 and implemented through the 100th Constitutional Amendment in 2015, under which India and Bangladesh exchanged enclaves — 111 Indian enclaves went to Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves came to India on July 31, 2015.