BANGALORE : The nuclear deal with the United States is the best thing that can happen to India, which has penetrated the final glass ceiling, as it were, to be included in the exclusive club of nuclear nations, the former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, now India's Interlocutor with the U.S. Administration on the deal, said here on Tuesday.

Addressing members of the Asia Centre, Mr. Saran said even in diplomatic terms, India had gained acceptance in the international mainstream, but much of what had been achieved since the July 2005 commitment between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George Bush had its foundation in India's impeccable track record in non-proliferation.

There was no legal commitment on not testing nuclear weapons capabilities. The deal was more about facilitating India's push towards energy independence for civilian purposes.

Mr. Saran pointed out that by bringing in the Hyde Act, the U.S. administration had acknowledged that imposing restrictions could not curb India's growing economy and development. "After 1974, we were even denied the Cray computer because it could be used for purposes other than analysis of climate data."

India had long been denied cooperation in the nuclear sector with the West. "But we could now negotiate on our own terms and the Tarapur-like situation, when fuel-supply assurances were grudged and reprocessing of fuel was not allowed, leading to virtual closure of the reactor, is a thing of past."

The Hyde Act gave the U.S. the basis for delivering on the July 2005 agreement, and India had no reason to second guess what the U.S. administration would do to take this further. "The bilateral agreement is what should concern us."

The Hyde Act was a necessity because prior to this the U.S. could not cooperate with a country that had tested a nuclear device.

Post Hyde Act, there was no waiver of conditions on future testing of weapons, and this was a subject of debate, Mr. Saran conceded. This could lead to dissociation with the U.S., if India decided to test in the future. And such a decision could only be a political one.

On the other hand, the deal could be a bane if it impacted on the strategic programme, which it did not, since the focus was on nuclear energy and how India could explore reducing dependence on fossil fuels by working on production 40,000 mw of power from nuclear energy in the coming decades.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail