• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 20 Asserting that the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement was consistent with India’s interests, the Government on Monday said the pact incorporates provisions ensuring uninterrupted fuel supplies and the right to reprocess, besides the option to take “corrective measures” if warranted.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha, the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said that after concluding civil nuclear agreements with the US and France, India was working towards finalising a similar pact with Russia during the upcoming visit of President, Mr Dmitry Medvedev.

Mr Mukherjee also stated that the Safeguards Agreement entered into with the IAEA, as well as bilateral pacts with the US and France, entail no hindrance to India’s strategic programme. “We retain the freedom to take action with regard to our strategic programme even as we engage in international co-operation in civil nuclear energy,” he added.

Mr Mukherjee made the statement on the developments related to India’s ‘civil nuclear energy initiative’, even as the CPI(M) leader, Mr Basudeb Acharia, raised the issue of alleged breach of privilege by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue.

Mr Acharia had alleged the Prime Minister failed to fulfil his promise to the House made in July that he would come back to Parliament before operationalising the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

In his statement, the External Affairs Minister said the Nuclear Suppliers Group’s decision to allow India to engage in civil nuclear co-operation with other countries enhances the country’s choices to engage as an equal partner with the international community.

“I can say emphatically that this initiative creates more space for us to pursue a foreign policy which serves our national interest,” he said.

Emphasising that the agreements with the US and France and the one to be signed with Russia “represent a careful balance of rights and obligations”, Mr Mukherjee said, adding that “co-operation with our international partners will be carried out on the basis of the terms and provisions” of these pacts.

He said these agreements provide co-operation in various aspects of nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel supply assurances “which are the basis of our civil nuclear initiative as well as our right to build our strategic fuel reserves, to ensure the uninterrupted operation of our civil nuclear reactors under IAEA safeguards”.

More Stories on : Foreign Relations | Power

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line