Nuke scientists welcome Indo-US deal

The Indo-American nuclear deal will not have any adverse impact either on the indigenous atomic research or the country's weapons programme, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), said today.

Kakodkar's optimism on the deal announced yesterday is shared by almost the entire nuclear establishment including former AEC chairman P.K. Iyengar who had been worried about the possible adverse fallout on indigenous research and development in atomic energy.

Kakodkar, whose initial fears over placing fast-breeder reactors for international inspection virtually put the nuclear establishment against the government, told PTI that he is quite happy with the final agreement announced by US President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I am convinced this (agreement) is the practical way to move forward, and I am happy with the outcome," he said in a telephone interview.

Though finer details are still to be worked out, the agreement will cause no difficulty in continuing our work on fast breeder reactors or carrying out research on Thorium reactors, Kakodkar said.