M R Srinivasan focused on the peaceful use of nuclear power at a time when the popular view among the 'hawks' was that India should build a nuclear arsenal as a deterrent.
'The IAEA should be given the authority, resources and technical capability to intervene expeditiously in case of a nuclear emergency.'
Russia has offered India cooperation in localising large and small nuclear power plants as part of a civil nuclear energy collaboration between the two countries. The offer was made during a meeting at the IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
Anil Kakodkar will also discuss with IAEA representatives an Additional Protocol.
India will next Monday sign a key safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to allow supply of atomic fuel and technology to the country moving a step closer to operationalising its international civil nuclear cooperation after the 34-year-old nuke trade embargo was lifted.
Last week, the third round of talks in Vienna failed to ready the agreed text and the next round is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. Originally, the third round was considered to be the final round but there was no agreement on the issue of India's right to hold its strategic reserve to cater lifetime supply to its civilian nuclear plants.
India will begin another round of talks with the global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna from Monday for negotiating the safeguards agreement, a pre-requisite for the India-United States nuclear agreement. The Indian delegation, led by R B Grover, a top official in the Department of Atomic Energy, reached Vienna today for the talks, which are expected to go on till the month-end.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog is contemplating to set up a reserve nuclear fuel bank for supplying fuel to countries, which have renewed interest in expanding their atomic energy programme.
'The very fact that his autobiography is called India Rising is a correct example of his wish for India to be a developed country and do as best as possible by science reaching to the common people.'
Notwithstanding the Left parties' threat to the government not to carry forward the safeguards talks with IAEA beyond December, India opened the second round of discussions with the nuclear watchdog.
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.
India's first report on safety of civilian nuclear power plants was presented on Thursday at the Convention of Nuclear Safety at Vienna by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Chairman S K Sharma. India's complete compliance with obligations under all the relevant articles of the convention in a 206-page report was presented by Sharma at the International Atomic Energy Agency, AERB Secretary Om Pal Singh told PTI in Mumbai.
"Our aim is to bring the nuclear power plant into production by 2015," Chief of country's Atomic Energy Commission Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan was quoted as saying by the New Age newspaper on Monday.
Menon is expected to press India's case for allowing it to have civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. He is likely to cite India's impeccable track record on the non-proliferation front despite being a non-signatory to the NPT.
India hopes to wrap up a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency later this month in Vienna, before approaching the Nuclear Suppliers Group, for changes to permit international nuclear commerce. India needs to reach a safeguards agreement and then get the nod of the 45-member NSG for operationalising the India-United States civil nuclear agreement.
Pakistan's Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Farukh Amil stressed full compliance by all States with their respective safeguards obligations.
India on Friday joined the United States in voting against Iran in a resolution passed by United Nations atomic watchdog IAEA censuring the Islamic nation over its controversial nuclear programme and demanding that it stop uranium enrichment.
India has cancelled its briefing on the safeguards agreement for the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was scheduled to be held in Vienna on July 18.The IAEA safeguards agreement is an essential step India has to take to integrate with international nuclear commerce before it secures a one-time waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
India could expect the support of Japan at the upcoming Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting, with a senior official of the country saying that Tokyo understands New Delhi's energy needs and would adopt an approach that strengthens the non-proliferation regime.Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama noted that Tokyo had gone with consensus at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors meeting on India-specific safeguards despite having reservations.
The mistake the enemies of the deal in India and the US are making is to seek satisfaction over their own wish list.
The final decision will depend on the confidence of the Israeli military and intelligence leadership that it can destroy Iran's retaliatory capability through a pre-emptive strike, says B Raman
The victory of Yukia Amano of Japan over his nearest rival, South Africa's Abdul Minty, is clearly a victory for the "watchdog" role of the IAEA. The resistance to him till July 2, 2009, by the developing countries stemmed from the fear that he, representing as he does the only country in the world which became a victim of a nuclear attack, would turn the Agency into a ferocious watchdog rather than a benevolent advocate of atoms for peace
The two sides have held four rounds of talks in Vienna to finalise the draft pact, which the Congress-led government has to place before the United Progressive Alliance-Left panel to get a political go ahead for the deal, that aims to get India out of nuclear wilderness. "We have held four rounds of talks but do not have a draft yet," a source said.
The reliability of US information and assessments on Iran is increasingly at issue as the Bush administration confronts the emerging regional power on multiple fronts.
In a significant step which will enable it to engage in international nuclear commerce, India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) on Wednesday, which sets parameters on a nuclear operator's financial liability, at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
Iran has accelerated its nuclear programme and currently possesses sufficient supply of uranium to make three nuclear devices, a United Nations nuclear watchdog report claimed.
There is disappointment that such a high profile agency with great potential for peace and development has not attracted the enormous talent available wide world outside the Vienna International Centre, says T P Sreenivasan.
India has said that it has difficulty with parts of the IAEA draft.
T P Sreenivasan, India's former Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and ex-Indian Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, has predicted that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will be honoured regardless of whatever dispensation comes to power following the general election in May. Sreenivasan noted that "two of the three coalitions vying for power in India are committed to amend it, though not to abandon it."
Natwar Singh had remarked that India shouldn't vote in case of a stronger stand.
Indian negotiators and International Atomic Energy Agency officials will meet shortly in Vienna to iron out the differences in readying the 'agreed text' on India-specific safeguards, which is crucial to operationalise the India-United States nuclear deal.
Diplomatic efforts helped avert vote on Iran: India
IAEA puts off referring Iran to Security Council: Official
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'
