Indo-US Deal: India Resumes Another Round of Talks with IAEA
Feb 25, 2008 (The Hindu)
Vienna (PTI): India on Monday resumed another round of talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) here to negotiate the India-specific safeguards agreement which is crucial for the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. This round of negotiations is expected to complete the draft of the "agreed text" of the crucial new template specific to India and the meeting is expected to go on till Friday, an IAEA official told PTI. The Indian delegation is headed by top Department of Atomic Energy official, Dr Ravi B Grover. Sources said Indian negotiators and IAEA are also keeping the agency's Board of Governors updated on the progress of the consultations so that it would be easier when it officially comes for disussion during the Board meeting on March 3. Although the next week's Board meet will mostly concentrate on the issues of Iran, sources said India may or may not come up for the official discussion.
India Hopeful on Nuclear Deal Despite Adamant Left
Feb 25, 2008 (Reuters)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India said on Monday it was still hopeful of clinching a nuclear deal with the United States, in what analysts said was an indication the government was making a final effort to convince its communist allies about the pact. Indian President Pratibha Patil told parliament on Monday that she still hoped the deal would go through, after warnings from the U.S. government that time was fast running out. "There is fresh spine in the government in taking on the communists," said political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan. "The government knows this is the last chance for the deal." But Patil's optimism was swiftly rejected by a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), which has threatened to bring down the government if the deal goes through. Communists say the pact, which will give India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and equipment, infringes on India's sovereignty and undermines its security.
Nuclear Deal “Deserves” Support
Feb 22, 2008 (The Hindu)
CHENNAI: The government has entered into the civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. without compromising on the autonomy of India’s strategic nuclear programme or the development of the country’s indigenous capabilities, Minister of State for Law and Justice K. Venkatapathy said on Thursday. Delivering a lecture on ‘India’s Nuclear Deal,’ organised here by the Madras High Court and members of the Madras Bar to commemorate the 60th year of Independence, he said the agreement was historical as it allowed India to procure nuclear fuel and technology from other countries even while remaining non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. “If the deal does not materialise, we get nothing. But, if we get it through, the benefits outweigh the cost by a large margin. Therefore, on balance, I think the deal deserves our support,” Mr. Venkatapathy said. Pointing out that Indian scientists had overwhelmingly endorsed the deal despite some initial apprehensions, he said the Left parties opposed the deal because they were ideologically opposed to the U.S.
US Rushes to Get Slice of $45bn Indian Arms Pie
Feb 22, 2008 (The Guardian)
The US secretary of defence, Robert Gates, arrives in the Indian capital, New Delhi, next week to promote a $10bn jet fighter contract, underlining the country's emergence as one of the world's biggest military markets. To update its Soviet-era arsenal India says it will need to spend $45bn in the next five years, and it has been courted by western states that are barred by arms embargoes from selling to China, the other expanding Asian military power. US officials admit in private that arms sales to India also cement strategic ties as a hedge against Beijing's growing clout in Asia. Gates's visit, due next Tuesday, comes just before a March deadline for bids on the contract for 126 new fighters. K Subramanyam, a defence analyst, said: "With the Americans you purchase not just weapons but a security relationship. The Saudis build it into their calculations. No surprise if we do too."
Russia, India Ready to Sign New Nuclear Contract
Feb 22, 2008 (Xinhua)
MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia and India have drawn up and are prepared to sign an agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation in the nearest future, said an official of Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday. "An agreement between Russia and India has been prepared on cooperation in the construction of additional power units at the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in India," Russian RIA news agency quoted Alexander Maryasov as saying. "Moscow will sign the new contract as soon as possible," Maryasov added. The agreement was initiated by the two countries earlier this month, according to RIA reports. Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, is constructing the Koodankulam plant in accordance with an initial 1988 deal between India and Russia. However, Maryasov said that the agreement would be signed only after restrictions on nuclear supplies and technology transfer to India are lifted and a safeguards deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is signed.
India Gears Up for Wars of Future
Feb 21, 2008 (The Times of India)
NEW DELHI: India is launching a futuristic programme to develop sophisticated NBC (nuclear-biological-chemical) defence technology to counter the threats posed by hostile armies or terrorists resorting to such warfare. The new programme, being spearheaded by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), comes after the Army has already inducted Rs 700 crore worth of NBC defence equipment, with another Rs 2,000 crore worth of it in the pipeline after being approved by the defence ministry recently. ''The new programme, initially pegged at Rs 300 crore, will include unmanned aerial and ground vehicles fitted with NBC detection sensors. The first prototypes are already being developed," DRDO chief controller Dr W Selvamurthy told TOI . Other thrust areas include nanotechnology-based biosensors, laser-based detection for chemical clouds, self-contained inflatable NBC shelters and a 'model' hospital to handle NBC victims.
US Senators: India, Act Now on Nuke Deal
Feb 21, 2008 (The Washington Post)
NEW DELHI -- Time is running out for Indian leaders to finalize a landmark nuclear cooperation pact with the United States, three U.S. senators said after meeting with India's prime minister. Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that "it was critical if India wanted that deal, that they move on it relatively soon, within a matter of weeks." "You cannot run the clock out and expect us to be able to get it done," Biden said after he and Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., met Wednesday with the Indian leader in New Delhi. The deal, which must be approved by Congress, would reverse three decades of American anti-proliferation policy by allowing the U.S. to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which has been cut off from the global atomic trade because of its refusal to sign nonproliferation treaties and its testing of nuclear weapons.
Gates to Travel to India as Arms Deals Blossom
Feb 21, 2008 (The Washington Post)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates travels to India next week to strengthen diplomatic ties strained by an impasse over a landmark nuclear deal and push American bids for a lucrative $10 billion fighter contract. After decades of a pro-Soviet tilt, India has moved closer to Washington in recent years, with new arms sales and joint military exercises. Millions of Indians also are turning to the United States for education, jobs and consumer goods. Gates' visit comes as U.S. companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co. are competing with Russian and European rivals for one of India's biggest ever arms contracts, a potential $10 billion deal to sell India 126 fighter aircraft. Burgeoning arms deals may also help pacify Washington, frustrated at India's apparent climbdown over a nuclear deal with the United States that President George W. Bush had called "historic." India's government put that deal, also known as the "123 agreement," on ice after opposition from its communist allies.
India for Peace and Stability in Pakistan, Says Anand Sharma
Feb 20, 2008 (The Hindu)
Kolkata: India hopes that Pakistan gets democracy and the democratic institutions and processes are consolidated in future, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said. Replying to a question on the outcome of elections in Pakistan, he said, “we have a special relationship with Pakistan and India wants the region to have peace and stability and share the benefits of economic growth.”… Commenting on India’s energy scene, he said that a judicious mix of all fuel sources, including nuclear, was needed for the country’s energy security. Fossil fuel is a depleting source, he said noting that tidal wave had emerged as a possibility and India was already good in tapping wind and solar energy. “We have to go for a large basket which includes nuclear energy,” he said… He said that it would hurt India’s long-term interests if it lost the opportunity for a civilian nuclear engagement.
India Must Pass By July Key India-US Nuclear Deal: US Senators
Feb 20, 2008 (AFP)
NEW DELHI (AFP) — India must complete by July all steps needed to conclude a nuclear technology deal with Washington to ensure the US Congress approves it before the presidential polls, three US senators said on Wednesday. The India-US civilian nuclear energy deal has been held up due to stiff opposition from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Communist allies who prop up the minority Congress-led government. "Time is of the essence," said Joseph Biden, one of three Democratic senators who were on a one-day visit to New Delhi after monitoring Pakistan's parliamentary elections earlier this week. The pact still needs approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency to place India's civilian nuclear reactors under UN safeguards as well as from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates global civilian nuclear trade. The agreement, which would give New Delhi crucial access to civilian atomic technology, requires final approval by the US Congress where it currently enjoys bipartisan support. But Washington officials say the deal is running out of time with a tight 2008 legislative calendar ahead of November's US presidential elections.
Sagarika To Be Tested Soon Off Orissa
Feb 20, 2008 (The Hindu)
NEW DELHI: India is all set to improve its capability to respond to a nuclear attack with the first-ever test of Sagarika, an under-sea missile and the second test of a 3,000-km variant of the surface-to-surface Agni missile, a senior defence scientist said here. Sagarika would soon be test-fired from a submerged platform off the coast of Orissa. The second test of the land-based Agni-III missile would be conducted as soon as the weather clears up, said Chief Controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) S. Prahlada. Sagarika, under development for at least 16 years and acknowledged by the government only for the last 10 years, would complete the triad — land, air and sea — of the country’s nuclear deterrence. India’s nuclear doctrine eschews a first strike and assures that it will retaliate only after a nuclear attack. Therefore, it is necessary for India to have a strike platform such as a submarine which survives the attack and can effectively retaliate at a time of its choosing.
Lockheed, Boeing Vie For Indian Jet Order
Feb 19, 2008 (The Washington Post)
When India went shopping for military transport planes and helicopters last month, the South Asian nation, which once bought most of its arms from Russia, placed the order with Lockheed Martin instead…Annual trade has tripled since 2000, to more than $41 billion last year. As Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to visit New Delhi next week, Lockheed or Boeing may add to that trade as they compete for a $10 billion contract to sell 126 fighter jets. The two nations are working to counter terrorism and limit nuclear proliferation, and the United States has become the destination of choice for Indians studying abroad…India's purchase of warplanes and an unfinished U.S.-India nuclear-power agreement are likely to be prominent on Gates's agenda during a visit that will "reinforce the growing strength of our relationship, especially on the defense side," Inderfurth said. Indian parties that oppose closer U.S. ties are resisting a nuclear accord. They also are fighting approval of a logistical-support agreement that would allow the two nations' militaries to use each other's refueling and basing facilities for naval vessels and aircraft.
Regime Change in US Won't Affect Talks: Kakodkar
Feb 19, 2008 (The Times Of India)
BANGALORE: Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar has said efforts to ensure success of the Indo-US nuclear deal would go on regardless of regime change in the US. Speaking to reporters after delivering a lecture on Monday at the National Institute of Advanced Studies on India's nuclear energy status, he said: "It is a step-by-step process and takes time. I am not willing to conjecture on what will happen to the nuclear deal in connection with the US presidency... I don't want to say whether the deal will be seen through before or after the Bush presidency... We will continue to talk with the US." Kakodkar said he was neither positive nor negative about the deal. "I am a realist, I am realistic about it. If the deal goes through, it is very good. I don't think about whether it won't... But if it doesn't, our indigenous programme will go on. I can say our indigenous programme is sustainable on its own..."
US Crucial for India's Nuclear Ambitions: Saran
Feb 18, 2008 (CNN IBN)
New Delhi: Nuclear envoy Shyam Saran on Monday hinted at a Government plan to overcome Left objections to the nuclear deal. He said that America's help was crucial for India to not only get the nuclear deal through the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) but also to facilitate nuclear business with France and Russia. He described the current US administration as favorably inclined towards India but warned that delays have deepened the uncertainties over the future of the nuclear deal. India is presently negotiating a safeguards agreement with the IAEA. Saran, while underlining that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal had nothing that would impact India's military programme, said "frankly, I do not think that we could have secured any better safeguards for our interests" in the deal…"While there has been intense focus on the Indo-US bilateral agreement, much of the commentary on the subject has lost sight of the multilateral regime whose adjustment in favour of India is what we are aiming at," he said.
“Questions, Not Just on Iraq,” Editorial
Feb 17, 2008 (The New York Times)
How the next president plans to handle the disastrous Iraq war is the most important foreign policy question of this year’s campaign. But it is not the only foreign policy question that voters need answered…Mr. Bush tore up arms control treaties, offered to sell civilian nuclear technology to India, then wondered why so many countries weren’t more outraged by Iran’s nuclear misbehavior. Do the candidates have practical plans to halt the spread of nuclear weapons? Would they commit to deep cuts in America’s nuclear arsenal, forswear the development of new nuclear weapons, and persuade the Russians to do the same? If the candidates see nuclear energy as a way to control global warming, how would they ensure that its spread does not lead to the spread of nuclear weapons?
'N-trade: US Can't Have Different Standards for India'
Feb 15, 2008 (Rediff News)
Democratic Congressman Howard Berman, who took over the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from fellow Democrat Congressman Tom Lantos after his death on February 11, has extracted a pledge from the Bush administration that it will not support the deal in the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement unless it is consistent with the Hyde Act approved by Congress in 2006. The nonproliferation lobby in the United States -- which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear agreement -- is elated that one of their own has been elected as the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. However, Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, who has coordinated the anti-deal lobbying in the Congress, the NSG and the International Atomic Energy Agency, pointed out that the Bush administration's pledge will require a shift in policy. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised Berman that the US will "support NSG guidelines that are consistent with the minimal but vital conditions established by the Congress for US nuclear trade with India".
'Energy Can be the Pillar in Indo-Russian Ties'
Feb 15, 2008 (Rediff News)
Kanwal Sibal, former foreign secretary and India's ex-ambassador to Russia, spoke exclusively to rediff.com on Russian Prime Minister Viktor A Zubkov's recent visit to India. On a day when the Russian Prime Minister inaugurated the 'Year of Russia' in India in 2008, Sibal attempted to put in perspective the Indo-Russian ties. The 'Year of Russia' will witness special programmes in economy, science and culture and it will be followed by the 'Year of India' in Russia in 2009…Is there a shadow of the ongoing Indo-US nuclear deal on the Indo-Russia nuclear energy co-operation agreement? I think it's inevitable. Why should we run away from this? The key is in the US hands. Unless the US opens the doors of civil nuclear co-operation with India, no other country will come forward and co-operate with us. Nobody wants to challenge the US and nobody wants to undermine the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines. And, there are concerns of proliferation that go beyond India. The international community, at least most of it, like the US, Russia, France and the UK certainly have observed and accepted India's defiance of the non-proliferation regime when we tested nuclear weapons in 1998. But, if it happens beyond this, I think that would cost us heavily.
Hyde Act Will Haunt Nuclear Deal at NSG Too
Feb 15, 2008 (The Economic Times)
NEW DELHI: Exposing the Manmohan Singh government’s claim that the Hyde Act has no bearing on India, the US said it would support an exemption in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) only if it is consistent with the obligations spelt out for India in the Hyde Act. We will support nothing with India in the NSG that is in contradiction to the Hyde Act. It will have to be completely consistent with the obligations of the Hyde Act, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the House of Foreign Affairs Panel. The Hyde Act contains prescriptive clauses that include cessation of all civilian nuclear co-operation in case India tests a nuclear weapon and restricts the reprocessing of spent fuel. The Hyde Act also features a provision on a multi-layered system of monitoring of reactors. These are all core issues related to co-operation in civilian nuclear energy, which, according to Ms Rice, will now be included in an NSG waiver. This clearly goes against India’s position that it will only accept an unconditional waiver from the NSG.
BJP Demands Apology from PM on Nuclear Deal
Feb 15, 2008 (The Economic Times)
NEW DELHI: Observing that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement has confirmed its fears about the Indo-US nuclear deal, BJP on Friday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA government for 'misleading' the nation. Senior BJP leader L K Advani said the deal neutralises the achievements of Pokhran II, the atomic tests of 1998, and takes away India's right to conduct nuclear tests in the future. Reacting to Rice's statement, party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said "she has stated that the 123 Agreement would be validated through Hyde Act" and confirms BJP's long standing fear that Hyde Act would supersede the 123 Agreement. "However the UPA government has all along been saying that Hyde Act is an internal matter of the US government and India is concerned only with the 123 Agreement," Javadekar said.
A Birthday Celebration in a World of Even Greater Peril
Feb 14, 2008 (The New Statesman)
Once in a generation a resistance movement arises that truly tests the fabric of the state. Not many have withstood the authorities for as long as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend. As Bruce Kent recalls on our website, CND grew out of discussions within the pages of the New Statesman. From the first Aldermaston marches, through to cruise, Pershing and Greenham Common, it has lived through many peaks and troughs, its membership rising as the nuclear threat escalates. Nowadays, CND might seem to have little of the salience of the 1950s or 1980s. Yet its message has endured and the danger remains ever-present. Security has not been guaranteed by the nuclear deterrent; the more capability proliferates, the more the onus should be on the original "five" nuclear states to disarm, setting an example. Indeed, one could argue that the world is entering a new phase of uncertainty, with nuclear technology at its heart. The threat comes on many fronts. While North Korea appears to have put its ambitions on hold, Iran's plans remain unclear. The three most dangerous violators - all have consistently refused to sign up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - are India, Pakistan and Israel.
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