Despite the approval of the union cabinet on the text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury held at Kumamoto in Japan in October 2013, and given its active participation in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meetings, India's impetuous stand on the convention is unexplainable and unjustifiable. This article appreciates the rationale of adopting a legally-binding approach, instead of much-pushed voluntary measures and why India, despite its active participation in the meetings, which shaped the convention, refused to sign it.
