EXTRANCHECK: PRE-LICENSE CHECK: NATIONAL PHYSICAL

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 000669 SIPDIS SIPDIS USDOC FOR 532/OEA/M. NICKSON-D/JAY HATFIELD USDOC FOR 3131/USFCS/OIO/ANESA/KREISSL USDOC FOR 4530/MAC/ANESA/OSA ICE HQ FOR STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS STATE FOR EB/ESP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC ETRD BEXP IN SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE-LICENSE CHECK: NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY, NEW DELHI, LICENSE NO. D388408 REF: USDOC 10720 ¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is prohibited by Section 12(c) of the Export Administration Act. ¶2. On February 22, 2008, Export Control Officer (ECO) Paul Cushman and BIS FSN Prem Narayan conducted a Pre-license Check (PLC) at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in New Delhi. ¶3. BIS requested a PLC at NPL, a Government of India (GOI) entity located at Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012, Tel: 91-11-2574-2610, Fax: 91-11-2572-6938, website: www.nplindia.org. NPL was listed as the ultimate consignee and Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India, as the intermediate consignee for Aflatoxin B1 from Aspergillus Flavus Crystalline, CAS No. 1162-65-8 A6636 ? 5MGX1 controlled under ECCN 1C351. The license applicant was Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (SIGMA),St. Louis, Missouri. ¶3. ECO and FSN Narayan met with Dr. Vikram Kumar, Director, Dr. S.K. Dhawan, Scientist and Dr. Raju Khan (Khan), Scientist, NPL. Randhir Jaiswal (Jaiswal),Deputy Secretary (AMS),Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), SIPDIS facilitated the meeting. Jaiswal was also present at the meeting. ¶4. Khan provided copies of SIGMA?s Quotation/Proforma Invoice, NPL Purchase Order and End-User Information. In addition, Khan provided a copy of a NPL letter to the Indian Customs Authority requesting exemption from customs duties as NPL is a GOI entity and the chemical is being imported for research purposes. ¶5. The PLC meeting was held at the NPL Polymer & Soft Materials Section laboratory. Khan stated that he is a scientist with the GOI?s Department of Science and Technology (DST) but has been temporarily detailed to NPL to conduct research on various topics including detection of Aflatoxin in food products. For this purpose, DST provided a research grant of approximately 57,000 USD. ¶6. Aflatoxins are produced by the Aspergillus family of molds which are commonly found in the tropics and subtropics in crops such as groundnuts, edible nuts, figs, spices and maize. Aflatoxin B1, the most toxic variety, is a potent carcinogen and has been linked to liver cancer. Khan stated although Aflatoxin cannot be eliminated from food products, it can be reduced to an acceptable level. In order to detect and measure the presence of Aflatoxin in food products, Khan is developing a sophisticated microchip. The Aflatoxin B1 sample ordered from SIGMA will be used in this R&D endeavor. Upon successful development of the microchip, the technology will be further developed for industrial application. Khan voluntarily provided copies of several academic papers he recently published. ¶7. NPL was established in 1945. NPL is one of 38 laboratories that operate under the auspices of the Government of India?s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology. CSIR falls under the control of the Prime Minister. NPL employs 935 employees. NPL?s activities include research & development in measurement standards, materials science, materials characterization, radio and atmospheric science, superconductivity and cryogenics. NPL?s mandate is to assist industry and government agencies to meet international measurement standards. NPL also provides consulting and training services to government and private sector companies. However, 90 percent of its work involves R&D activities. NPL?s major clients include several defense establishments, as well as numerous public and private sector companies. ¶8. Recommendation: National Physical Laboratory appears to be a suitable recipient of the controlled material. National Physical Laboratory?s scientists cooperated fully with the BIS Team during the on-site visit. Furthermore, NPL is engaged in activities consistent with the material?s civilian application. NPL officials indicated that they will comply with all EAR requirements and any BIS export license conditions. MULFORD