VZCZCXYZ0133
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNE #0653 0630959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030959Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HQ ICE IAO WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0695

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 000653 
 
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), 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