Scientists wary of new clause in Indo-US deal

The Indian nuclear establishment is up in arms against what it terms "clandestine insertion" of section 115 in the Indo-US nuclear deal that was passed by the US Senate last week.

Section 115 of the Indo-US nuclear deal entitled "United States-India Scientific Cooperative Threat Reduction Program" envisages a joint threat reduction programme with participation from scientists from both countries "to further common non-proliferation goals, including scientific research and development efforts related to nuclear non-proliferation, with an emphasis on nuclear safeguards."

"The Americans have some detailed programmes to stop the proliferation of nuclear technology. But drafting India into this programme was never discussed with the Indian negotiators at any stage. Then it finds a place in the Bill passed by the Senate. This clandestine insertion is causing a great deal of concern on whether the US now wants the agreement to go beyond the agreed parameters," said M R Srinivasan, former chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), on the sidelines of an Indian Nuclear Society function here.

The Indian side, which was taken by surprise by the inclusion of the clause, is afraid that the clause could leave the country open to US interference in the nuclear research programme.

The country has 14 declared civilian reactors and four which are considered military and includes the experimental reactors at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.

Almost all of the Indian nuclear research takes place either at the BARC reactors or the ones at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Chennai.

Said the former director of IGCAR, Placid Rodriguez, "If it is just a case of scientific cooperation, then it is alright but if it is a means for intrusion into the Indian research programme, it cannot be acceptable to us. We need to study this further."

Added a top BARC official, "At no cost can we compromise our scientific sovereignty."

Srinivasan, however, pointed out that there are still few more stages the treaty will go through before it becomes a law.

"We can still point out our discomfort with this clause to the Americans and so far they have taken our concerns on board, so we must push for this amendment to be dropped too."

The treaty as passed by the Senate will be reconciled with the version passed by the US Congress and then ratified by both houses before being sent to the US president for his assent.