Govt to Quicken Talks with IAEA: Kakodkar
Dec 12, 2007 (The Hindu)
Mumbai (PTI): Unfazed by CPI(M)'s threat to the government to end the talks with IAEA, its chief nuclear negotiator on Wednesday said India will quicken negotiations with IAEA on India-specific safeguards but will ensure that it is done "satisfactorily". "We are doing our best and try to complete the process as soon as possible but everything has to be done satisfactorily as the negotiations are comprehensive and complex," Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar said as India concluded its second round of talks with the IAEA in Vienna on Wednesday. "We will carry forward the discussions with IAEA. If consultations are required the negotiating team will come back and then continue the process," he said. However, Kakodkar refused to elaborate on the nature of the negotiations saying "the negotiating team is doing their job, let us see how it takes shape".
US Team Discusses Nuclear Cooperation with Indian Cos.
Dec 12, 2007 (The Hindu)
Mumbai (PTI): Anticipating that the Indo-US deal will come through, a delegation of American energy firms are here on a two-day visit for the second time this year to explore possiblities of joint ventures with Indian companies. "There are constraints and lack of supply chain in the global energy sector as the Western countries did not expand their nuclear programme for the last two decades. In this backdrop, the US is looking forward to collaboration with Indian manufacturers to improve the global supply chain," a top official of an Indian company said. It has been estimated that the current supply chain for the global power industry would not be sufficient for strong growth in the sector, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain told PTI.
India Working on Doubling Nuclear Strike Range: Official
Dec 12, 2007 (AFP)
NEW DELHI, Dec 12, 2007 (AFP) — India announced Wednesday it was working on a new ballistic missile capable of hitting targets 6,000 kilometres (3,800 miles) away, which would more than double its current nuclear strike range. "Agni-IV is still in the design stage, and so we cannot give a date for the trials to begin," said V. K. Sarswat, the head of India's strategic missile programme. But when asked to confirm if the missile will have a range of 6,000 kilometres, he replied: "It will be that much." New Delhi has already begun production of two variants of the Agni -- a 700-kilometre (434-mile) Agni-I and the 2,500-kilometre (1,550-mile) range Agni-II after flight-testing both the ballistic missiles numerous times since 1993.
Indian PM Brushes Aside Communists Threat of Early Elections Over US Nuclear Deal
Dec 11, 2007 (Associated Press)
India's prime minister on Tuesday brushed aside a threat by his communist allies to force early elections if the government pursues a controversial nuclear deal with the United States. "We will cross the bridge when we come to it," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters. The survival of Singh's more than three-year-old government depends on the support of four communist parties in India's Parliament. The next parliamentary elections are due in 2009. The government says the deal is crucial to meeting the country's growing energy needs and to bring it into the nuclear mainstream after decades of outsider status because of its refusal to sign nonproliferation treaties and its testing of nuclear weapons.
N-deal Vital for Energy Needs: Kakodkar
Dec 11, 2007 (The Economic Times)
The Indo-US nuclear deal is vital for India’s energy requirements as nuclear energy will be an important constituent of the country’s energy basket, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said on Monday. “Though India has huge reserves of thorium on which the three stage nuclear programme is based, it’s gestation period is longer,” Mr Kakodkar said while delivering a lecture on Monday. “The urgency of the deal is because of the rapidly growing energy requirement of the country."
India’s Leftists Deny Nuclear Deal Ultimatum
Dec 11, 2007 (Daily Times)
Indian Left parties on Monday denied having issued a fresh ultimatum on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal. Less than 48-hours after the main Left party the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat had talked of forcing a general election after the Gujarat assembly polls unless the government closed doors on the nuclear agreement, the party said it had no intention to pull down the government. The leaders said neither the Left nor the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) were currently ready for early Lok Sabha elections. Government warned: However, it warned the government against sidestepping the Left-UPA coordination committee, which the party said was an ultimate arbitrator to decide operationalisation of the deal.
IAEA to Help Design Reprocessing Facility
Dec 10, 2007 (The Times of India)
NEW DELHI: The International Atomic Energy Agency will be deeply involved with India in designing the dedicated reprocessing facility that will be the centrepiece of India's civilian nuclear sector and at the heart of the nuclear deal. This means IAEA's benchmarks of "safety and system integrity" will be fully met at the construction stage. This will also mean that the safeguards verification and monitoring procedures will be that much less intrusive and more routine, taking care of one of India's big fears of having US inspectors tramping through the country's nuclear facilities. All of this will find space in the safeguards pact, talks for which will resume on Monday. While conceptually the text is agreed upon, the grunt work remains — that, said sources, is long and tedious.
"Revived U.S.-Indian Deal Heads to IAEA," by Wade Boese in Arms Control Today
Dec 10, 2007 (Arms Control Today)
After appearing close to expiration, the U.S.-Indian civil nuclear cooperation deal was recently resuscitated when some Indian lawmakers relaxed their opposition to government talks with the world’s nuclear monitoring agency. The deal’s recovery, however, could be short lived if the consultations falter or fail to satisfy the lawmakers. Almost exactly one month after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informed President George W. Bush that their two-year-old initiative had run into “difficulties,” Singh’s coalition government Nov. 16 announced that the deal had won clearance to move ahead. That approval came when India’s Communist parties and their allies, whose votes help keep the coalition in power, consented to the government holding talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which promotes and monitors civilian nuclear activities worldwide.
India Communists Renew Threat on Nuclear Deal: Report
Dec 10, 2007 (AFP)
NEW DELHI (AFP) — A key Indian communist party has renewed a threat to withdraw crucial support for the national government over a controversial nuclear deal with the United States, a report said. The Communist Party of India or CPI(M) said negotiations for the deal must be wrapped up by year's end, warning the Congress-led government that it should be prepared for snap polls if they drag into the new year. "The issue must be resolved by the end of December. If they still go ahead, then we will have to be prepared for mid-term polls," party general secretary Prakash Karat was quoted as saying by Times Now television news Sunday. The government's five-year term ends in early 2009. The move is the latest turnaround after left-wing parties including the CPI(M) last month allowed the government to go ahead with crucial talks with the UN nuclear watchdog, a key step needed to implement the deal.
BJP Asks Govt Not to Go Ahead with Indo-US Nuclear Deal
Dec 7, 2007 (The Hindu)
New Delhi (PTI): Claiming that the government stood completely "isolated" on the Indo-US nuclear deal after the debate in Parliament, BJP on Friday asked the Congress-led coalition not to proceed with the agreement. "When MPs of NDA, Left and UNPA 'voted with their feet', particularly in the Rajya Sabha, dissatisfied with the government reply, almost two-thirds of the House got emptied, clearly revealing the sense of the House on the deal," senior leader BJP L K Advani . The Leader of the Opposition said the debate also "exposed the isolation" of Congress as even its allies in the UPA put up an "indifferent" and "half-hearted" defence of the deal. He regretted that the discussion on the deal in Parliament was not held under a rule that entails voting.
Govt Considering Potential Sites for Setting Up Nuke Plants
Dec 6, 2007 (Times of India)
NEW DELHI: The Madhya Pradesh government has requested the Centre to set up a nuclear power plant in the state, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. The Site Selection Committee (SSC) of the Central government has evaluated potential sites as offered by various states, including MP, for locating nuclear power plants, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Prithviraj Chavan, said. The Committee's report is under the government's consideration for in-principle approval of the recommended sites. The setting up of atomic plants would depend on the nuclear power programme and establishment of fuel linkages, Chavan said.
Nuke Deal Would Enhance Energy Security: Pranab
Dec 6, 2007 (The Hindu)
New Delhi (PTI): The civil nuclear agreement between India and the US would help create a substantial additional power generating capacity in the country, Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. In a written reply, Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee said the Integrated Energy Policy-2006, which sets a target of 20,000 MW of nuclear power generation by 2020, could double with international cooperation. Regarding the financial gains the country would have from the nuclear accord, the Minister said that energy from this non-conventional source will contribute in the growth of vital sectors, including industry and agriculture. "It is critical that India's current GDP growth rate of 8 to 10 percent per annum is maintained in order to achieve the objective of eradication of poverty. "For this, it is necessary to explore and exploit all sources of energy, and the inclusion of nuclear energy will help in meeting India's energy targets and contribute to growth in vital sectors, including industry and agriculture," he said.
Pak, Iran to Hold Final Round of Talks on IPI Pipeline
Dec 6, 2007 (The Hindu)
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan and Iran will hold the final round of technical talks on the USD 7.4 billion Iran- Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project here next week to review a draft gas purchase agreement even as New Delhi feels that the transit fee demanded by Islamabad "is too high". The talks, to be held on December 11-12, will fine tune the draft agreement which was drawn up during talks between the two sides in Tehran last month without the participation of India, which is the third partner in the project. Almost all corrections in the technical aspects and language of the draft were completed during the last round of talks, an official of Pakistan's petroleum ministry said. Pakistan is expected to import 60 million cubic metres of gas a day through the pipeline. Iran will start supplying gas to Pakistan by 2013, the official told the Daily Times. The official said it was "unclear if India will rejoin the IPI project".
Nuclear Energy Key to India's Role in Climate Change: US
Dec 6, 2007 (The Economic Times)
WASHINGTON: As the world discusses a new agreement to fight global warming, the US says nuclear energy will be a "key piece of the equation" for the future of India's contribution to adjusting climate change. "There is no question that nuclear power has to be part of the solution," a key advisor of President George Bush told reporters Wednesday at a White House briefing on the UN conference on climate change underway at Bali, Indonesia. This was so because "it is the only energy source right now that can produce base-load affordably to millions of people in urban areas without any emissions," said James Connaughton, chairman of US Environmental Quality when asked how the US-India civil nuclear deal will help.
India Eyes Nuclear Submarine Trials by 2009
Dec 5, 2007 (Reuters)
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India will be ready to test its first domestically built nuclear-powered submarine at sea by 2009, its navy chief said on Monday. A long-running secret project, India's nuclear-powered submarine is said to be a 5,000-tonne modified version of the Russian Charlie-II class vessel. Code-named "the Advanced Technology Vessel", the submarine will be capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and give India's navy an advantage over nuclear rival Pakistan. "Scientists have confirmed that they (will) have the project ready for trials by 2009," the Press Trust of India quoted Admiral Sureesh Mehta as saying. "We want the Russian nuclear submarine to enable our boys to train on how to operate nuclear reactors and platforms and other systems," he said. With about 140 ships in its fleet and dozens of new frigates and French Scorpene submarines to be delivered soon, India's navy is increasing its capabilities.
India Not Barred From Atomic Tests Under Accord, Mukherjee Says
Dec 5, 2007 (Bloomberg)
Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- India's proposed civilian nuclear energy accord with the U.S. doesn't prevent the Asian nation from conducting atomic tests, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. ``If we feel it is necessary to conduct a nuclear test because of geo-political scenario, we will do it,'' Mukherjee said during a debate in the upper house of parliament today. ``If we conduct a nuclear test, consequences will also follow.'' The accord, aimed at ensuring the supply of fuel and technology for India's civilian nuclear power program, doesn't refer to weapons testing. It provides for a qualitative audit of the ``circumstances that may lead to termination'' of the accord. Although the accord doesn't need to be ratified, the government agreed to a parliamentary debate in response to a demand by political parties to get a ``sense of the house.'' It's trying to convince its communist allies and opposition parties, usually bitter rivals, that the accord doesn't hurt India's strategic defense program or compromise its foreign policy.
Do a Rethink On Deal: CPI(M)
Dec 5, 2007 (The Hindu)
NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday cautioned the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that it would be committing a “dangerous folly” if it went ahead with the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal. The CPI(M), a key supporter of the government, asked it to do a “rethink” on the deal. Initiating a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the nuclear deal, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the party had extended support to the UPA government to keep the communal forces at bay, and on the basis of an agreed Common Minimum Programme (CMP). Mr. Yechury, who was speaking on the nuclear agreement for the third time in the House, said: “We are against American imperialism.” He argued that a majority of Americans were against the Bush administration and so was the Left. Arguing that the deal was against India’s national interests, he dismissed accusations that the Left’s opposition was based on extra-territorial considerations. He dwelt at length on several aspects pertaining to energy security, ending India’s nuclear apartheid, facilitating American nuclear commerce and trade and pushing India into a non-proliferation regime through the back door. “This deal will suck India into the vortex of subordinate ally of the U.S.”
Nuclear Deal Faces Hurdles, But Won't Quit: India
Dec 5, 2007 (Washington Post)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India said on Wednesday it is skeptical about clinching a controversial nuclear deal with the United States, but will not give up trying to convince critics and opponents as the pact is key to the country's growth. New Delhi's doubts over the fate of the deal, which has faced a rough ride since it was conceived in 2005, were voiced at the end of a parliament debate over the pact, which brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition to the brink of collapse. Mukherjee said he was not sure of the deal going through "because there are so many hurdles." He did not elaborate. India still needs to conclude a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, get the backing of the Nuclear Suppliers Group of nations and the approval of the U.S. Congress before the deal can be sealed. Analysts say not all these steps are expected to go through smoothly and within Washington's informal deadline -- the middle of next year, after which the U.S. presidential election campaign is expected to hurt serious legislative business.
We Will Re-Negotiate N-deal: BJP
Dec 5, 2007 (The Hindu)
New Delhi (PTI): Mounting a scathing attack on the UPA government on the Indo-US nuclear agreement, main opposition BJP on Tuesday said it will re-negotiate the deal if it comes to power. "I declare that if we come to power, which we will, we will re-negotiate the deal," senior party leader and former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said in the Rajya Sabha participating in the short duration discussion. Sinha said the UPA government was "misleading" the nation on all key issues including the right to reprocess fuel, energy security and ending country's nuclear apartheid. "All the scientists whom I have spoken to have told me that the nuclear isolation has proved to be a boon for India," he said advising the government to stop this "cry over ending the apartheid". He said when the entire world wanted to do business with India, "what apartheid you are talking about". The debate saw heated personal exchanges between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sinha over BJP's allegation that India could not sign a deal with Russia for additional reactors under pressure from the US.
26 Nations on Board Indian Navy’s Maritime Military Bloc
Dec 3, 2007 (Earthtimes)
New Delhi, Dec 3 - Indicative of India's growing clout on the global stage, the navy has floated a maritime military bloc comprising littoral states of the Indian Ocean and the response has been overwhelming with 26 countries already on board.
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