Pointing to an immediate need for accelerating the production of strategic nuclear assemblies, Mr M. K. Narayanan, former National Security Adviser said on Monday that the nuclear establishment needs to devise newer methodologies and undertake constant experimentation.

Addressing students at the graduation day ceremony held at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, he said that the graduating students would be required to work in very restrictive circumstances. They would be required to refine underwater nuclear capabilities and design capabilities for Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles, which are nuclear capable missiles with multiple warheads.

Mr Narayanan, who is the Governor of West Bengal, said that a strategic nuclear capability is most vital for national security and it has to be suitably calibrated for a credible minimum deterrent. The country has two nuclear armed neighbours, Pakistan and China, therefore it has no choice but to have a credible nuclear deterrent.

“We live in the most dangerous neighbourhood in the world. This is a region where many of the countries have highly dysfunctional governments, and are causing a great deal of turbulence around us,” Mr Narayanan said.

He added that the consequence of this disturbed area was that the country was always on alert and had to prepare for all eventualities. “This puts a heavy strain on many of our resources and impedes our other projects,” he said.

Expanding research in nuclear and nuclear-related areas is critical for the country’s future, he added. New research areas such as controlled thermo nuclear fusion and development of hydrogen energy and its use in the transport sector are in the preliminary stage. In these areas, more concrete progress has become a vital necessity, he said.

According to Mr Narayanan, India’s future is tied to the progress and development of nuclear science and energy and in these areas the role of young nuclear scientists would be crucial.

>rahul.wadke@thehindu.co.in

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