India is not satisfied with the draft prepared by the US for consideration of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and is pressing for modifications to ensure a “clean” and “unconditional” waiver from the 45-nation grouping.
Suggesting that the draft contained some conditionalities, officials accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here for the SAARC Summit said India could not accept any conditions put by the NSG.
India maintains that if any country has non-proliferation concerns regarding its case, these should not be reflected in the NSG waiver.
The officials said several members of the NSG had no issue with India being given the exemption to carry out nuclear commerce and any country’s apprehension could be addressed bilaterally instead of at the NSG.
“Individual countries can raise their doubts when we go for bilateral agreements with them after getting the NSG waiver and we will discuss those with them,” said an official. The comments assume significance as the NSG is expected to take up India’s case later this month. The NSG works by consensus and even if one of its 45 member countries voices any reservation, India will not get the waiver to carry out nuclear trade with the international community.
| IAEA RIGHTS IN INDIAN CIVIL NUCLEAR FACILITIES NOW |
| * IAEA will now have the right to collect environmental samples in facilities and at locations where it has access for inspections and design information verification |
| * It can inspect unattended and remote monitoring of movements of declared nuclear material in facilities |
| * It can hold unannounced inspections within the scheduled routine inspection regime |
| * India has to provide design information on new facilities and on changes in existing facilities as soon as authorities decide to construct, authorise construction of or modify a facility. The IAEA has the right to verify the design information over the facility’s lifecycle, including decommissioning |
| * India has to voluntarily report imports and exports of nuclear material and exports of specified equipment and non-nuclear material |
| * Closer cooperation between the IAEA and India for accounting and control of nuclear material |
| KINDS OF INSPECTIONS |
| * Ad hoc inspections typically are made to verify a State’s initial report of nuclear material and to verify the nuclear material involved in international transfers |
| * Routine inspections — the type most frequently used — may be carried out according to a schedule or they may be unannounced and carried out at a short notice. The agency’s right to carry out routine inspections under comprehensive safeguards agreements is limited to those locations within a nuclear facility, or other locations containing nuclear material, through which nuclear material is expected to flow (strategic points) |
| * Special inspections may be carried out under special circumstances according to defined procedures |
“We want to sort out the issue (with the US) before the NSG takes up the matter,” said an official.
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The officials conceded that not all members of the NSG supported India’s case and said efforts were on to bring them around.
India is sure of support from many countries, particularly Russia, France and the UK, but Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands have reservations over India being allowed to carry out nuclear commerce without signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). Some countries have not yet spelt out their position.
India contends that the Safeguards Agreement reached with the IAEA covers 90 per cent non-proliferation issues. Efforts were on to allay the apprehensions on account of the remaining 10 per cent issues, said officials.
“We are telling them that they need not worry on account of India as it is committed to universal non-proliferation,” the official said.