In an election at a special one-day meeting in Vienna, IAEA's 35-member board of governors appointed Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's head, Ansar Parvez, as its chairman for the next one year. The Board is the most important policy-making body after the 151-nation general conference.
The notification formalities were completed on Thursday night, a crucial step in paving way for the implementation of international civil nuclear cooperation, Department of Atomic Energy sources said.
A crucial meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to build a consensus on India-specific safeguards accord essential to help implement Indo-US nuclear deal has been postponed from July 28 and is likely to be held on August 1, IAEA sources said.
Mohammad ElBaradei, director general of International Atomic Energy Agency, was on Wednesday honoured with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for his 'impassioned opposition to use of nuclear energy for military purposes.'
The government Wednesday asserted that no inspections by the Internatioal Atomic Energy Agency are being carried out in any of the R&D institutions in India.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei on Tuesday inaugurated Bhabhatron-II, an indigenously developed advanced computerised telecobalt machine for the treatment of cancer. ElBaradei, who is on a three-day trip to India, visited the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai where he inaugurated Bhabhatron-II at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer here.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was close to finalising the text of India-specific safeguards but the ball is now in India's court to ready the agreement. Sources at IAEA said both sides are close to a final text but India has to confirm to the IAEA that there is an agreement on the text. Until then the agreement can not got forward.
In a fresh ultimatum, the CPI(M) has threatened mid-term polls to Lok Sabha if the government goes ahead with IAEA talks beyond December.
Tacitly confirming reports of signing of an agreement with Pakistan to build a huge 1000 MW nuclear power plant, China on Monday defended the deal saying that it confirmed to safeguards of the IAEA and rejected allegations that it has violated NSG norms.
Iran has threatened to review its economic and political relations with the countries that voted for the referral to UNSC.
India has placed ten of its nuclear reactors for review by the International Atomic Energy Agency as per the safeguard agreement reached with the United Nations monitoring body. "In accordance with the Separation Plan, so far, ten nuclear power reactors have been placed for review under the agreement between the government and the IAEA, for the Application of Safeguards to Civilian Nuclear Facilities signed in February 2009," a minister said.
Iran has resumed uranium enrichment, which was suspended under a deal with the European Union and critical questions remain about its atomic programme, the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said.
China is set to ink an agreement with the UN atomic watchdog to firm up cooperation in training and nuclear safety in East Asia and the world during the ongoing visit of its chief Yukiya Amano, in the backdrop of its plans to construct two new nuclear reactors in Pakistan.
India had gone along with the United States and European Union in voting against Iran at the last IAEA meeting in Vienna in September, triggering strong protests by United Progressive Alliance's left allies.
IAEA, chief share Nobel Peace prize for efforts to spread non-proliferation of nuclear arms.
Signalling the continuity of policy, the new government has ratified the Additional Protocol, a commitment given under Indo-US nuclear deal by the previous dispensation to grant greater ease to International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor India's civilian atomic programme.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Saturday defended India's decision to vote against Iran on the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution, claiming that it had been taken keeping in mind the fact that the Islamic nation was a signatory of the NPT. He was responding to a question on whether India had toed America's line over Iran's nuclear programme.
In a quick response to points raised by Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat over the Safeguards Agreement with IAEA in a letter to him, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote back saying that anybody wanting access to the text of the agreement would have had to join the government for it.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammad ElBaradei hailed India as a "leading advocate" for nuclear disarmament and asked the world to listen to its "voice" on elimination of all nuclear weapons. "India called for the elimination of all nuclear weapons as far back as 1948. It is important that India's voice should continue to be heard.
India on Monday signed a key safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to allow inspection of additional civilian reactors, clearing the decks for supply of atomic fuel and technology by the international community after a 34-year-old nuke trade embargo was lifted last year.
The Left parties on Wednesday night said that the government's move to get the draft nuclear safeguards agreement circulated to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors was 'expected', especially after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that the nuclear watchdog will be approached very soon.The Bharatiya Janata Party expressed surprise about how the draft was circulated.
Hours after A Q Khan's release from house arrest, Britain on Friday asked Pakistan to grant International Atomic Energy Agency access to the disgraced atomic scientist to question him on his proliferation activities, particularly transferring nuclear know-how to countries like Iran and North Korea.
Following is the reaction of parties on the India-specific safeguards agreement being approved by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Left too, assuming it finds it possible to lay aside its fundamental objections (subservience to the US, infringement of India's sovereignty) to the main nuclear deal, would find little in the contents of the agreement to which it can take serious exception.
'The IAEA should be given the authority, resources and technical capability to intervene expeditiously in case of a nuclear emergency.'
Kakodakar, who returned to India after talks with the IAEA, said that the initial talks were purely technical and that the next round of talks would be held soon.
India had three exploratory meetings with IAEA on the main concepts that would be embedded in an India-Specific Safeguard Agreement
Some Chinese scholars wondered why India is not taking any initiative to join NPT and which will open up more options for the nation on the nuclear front.
The four-day talks that concluded on Saturday were originally considered to be a final round but the draft text could not be completed, IAEA sources said, adding that there was also no meeting point on the issue of corrective measures to be undertaken in the event of stoppage of fuel to power plants.
International experts reaching Vienna for the 51st general conference of the IAEA are understood to be keen to know about the opportunities likely to emerge if the Indo-US civil nuclear deal goes through.
IAEA puts off referring Iran to Security Council: Official
"This work could not be the work of Khan alone," Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed El Baradei said.
DAE officials, who had marathon discussions for the last two days in Mumbai on the issue of safeguards to be discussed with the IAEA, received confirmation of an appointment with ElBaradei on Sunday night to initiate negotiations, the DAE sources said.
At a press briefing at Washington DC's National Press Club on the eve of the IAEA board of governors meeting, nonproliferation experts called on the NSG not to reach a consensus on the accord, since it was 'seriously flawed and would undermine the professed objectives of the NSG'
Playing down the fresh ultimatum from Communist Party of India-Marxist to end negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the Indo-US nuclear deal by this month-end or risk early polls, Congress on Monday noted that the talks could even be over by the year-end.
UN atomic energy chief Mohammed El-Baradei began a three-day visit to India as the ruling United Progressive Alliance-Left alliance appeared headed for a break-up over the India-United States civil nuclear energy pact.
"India, with long-standing experience in operating nuclear plants and building human and knowledge resources, can be a guiding force for new entrants seeking to harness atomic technology for producing power."
India and the International Atomic Energy Agency will hold negotiations in New Delhi on Saturday on the proposed Safeguards Agreement.
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