It is believed that the Left will go ahead with its threat to withdraw support to the alliance following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that he would meet the Nuclear Suppliers Group on Tuesday and seek their support for the civil nuclear cooperation with the US.
The CBI on Monday arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot in connection with the ICICI Bank loan fraud case, officials said. The 71-year-old Dhoot was arrested from Mumbai, nearly three days after former CEO and MD of the ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were taken into custody by the CBI, they said.
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, recently offered Saudi Aramco a stake in refineries and petrochemical projects.
Denying that India acted under US pressure in voting against on Iran's nuclear programme at IAEA, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said New Delhi's stand gave more time for diplomacy.
India has said that it has difficulty with parts of the IAEA draft.
A few years ago, when top officials of Indian state-run refiners went to Dubai to negotiate a crude oil supply contract, a senior official from state-owned Saudi Aramco told them, "We can negotiate on anything, but I am the last man standing for you. "Nobody can offer the range of crudes we do with certainty," an official who was part of the negotiating team recalls. Perhaps that explains why Saudi Arabia is less concerned about losing its place as India's premier oil supplier to an upstart like Russia, which emerged from nowhere to become India's biggest crude oil supplier in September and October.
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.
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.
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.
The central leadership of the CPI(M) on Monday admitted to a series of mistakes, including the decision to allow the first UPA government to go to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2007.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohammad ElBaradei has said that he does not expect India to sign the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, but feels the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty could be more "acceptable".
A senior minister said Friday's meet UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal was crucial to allow the government to approach the IAEA.
In a missive to Dr Singh dated September 23 on the day of the prime minister's arrival in New York, and made available to rediff.com, Obama said at the outset, "I am very pleased that your visit provides us with the opportunity to strengthen the US-India relationship."
Terming as "outrageous" Iran's comparison of its nuclear programme with India, the United States Friday said Tehran needs to face the "penalty" as it had crossed "so many international red lines".
He also complimented the United States for making it possible. The civil nuclear initiative was good for India and good for the world, he said in a statement.
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.
India has received a positive response from the Non-Aligned Movement countries, which are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group on the Indo-US nuclear deal after it briefed them on the safeguards agreement, which the global nuclear watchdog will consider on Friday.
The safeguards pact, which is the next step in the operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, was sent to the 35-nation Board on a day when the Left parties formally withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance government, following a bitter feud over the deal which has remained stalled for several months.
Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran says he is "optimistic" of the nuclear deal being cleared at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting. Saran -- the prime minister's special envoy on climate change and the India-US nuclear civilian agreement -- also confirmed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the G-8 summit in Tokyo later this week.
Iran is also defying UN demands to suspend uranium enrichment and is producing more powerful centrifuges, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a strongly worded report, which is bound to renew demands from the US and its western allies for tougher sanctions against Tehran. The report is yet to be released officially, but is said to accuse Iran of not providing all information, especially relating to 'high explosives testing' relating to nuclear programme.
India had three exploratory meetings with IAEA on the main concepts that would be embedded in an India-Specific Safeguard Agreement
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."
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday advised the United States to leave the issue of Iran's nuclear programme to the International Atomic Energy Agency and not take up the responsibility of deciding Iran's position."Iran should convince the IAEA that their nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. We are advising Iran that being a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, you should satisfy the IAEA."
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.
The Bombay high court on Monday granted bail to former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in a loan fraud case, saying their arrest was not in accordance with the provisions of law. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and P K Chavan held that the arrest of Kochhars was in violation of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which mandates sending notice for appearance before the police officer concerned. The couple was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 23, 2022 in connection with the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case.
The government believes that the matter should remain within the jurisdiction of the International Atomic Energy Agency and not be referred to the United Nations Security Council.
'There is a huge risk of misinformation and disinformation, and targeted campaigns that could potentially happen against candidates or to push certain narratives.'
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected suggestions that the United Progressive Alliance government's capacity to operationalise the deal has weakened after the Congress' debacle in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. "We would not like to proceed with the deal if the Left parties withdraw support from the government," he told Karan Thapar's India Tonight programme on CNBC.
Pakistan foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said that Pakistan is a 'responsible nuclear state' whose atomic weapons are 'as secure as that of any other nuclear weapon state'. Statements expressing concern about the safety and security of the nuclear arsenal are 'unwarranted and irresponsible'.
IAEA director general Muhamad ElBaradei expressed the hope for a long-term comprehensive agreement, which would allow for the development of relations and cooperation with Iran.
"There is no denying the fact that we voted against Iran at IAEA. The intention was to ensure that its nuclear issue does not go to the Security Council as it would entail sanctions and more problems," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while rejecting allegations that India's foreign policy was being affected by the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The European Union is following with great interest India's discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the civilian nuclear agreement and will take a decision on supporting India at the Nuclear Suppliers Group after studying all the developments.
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.
France on Thursday said it wanted to increase civil nuclear cooperation with India, but only after New Delhi implemented the legal framework. ''We want to move further, but first we need India to sign an agreement with the nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency, and also to negotiate the exemption agreement with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group,'' visiting French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valerie Pecresse told a press conference in New Delhi.
Uncertainty over the Indo-US nuclear deal cast a shadow over the first Indo-French nuclear business meet in Mumbai, which was aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in the atomic field.
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.
US Congress fires first salvo on the eve of ElBaradei's visit to India and even before the 123 Agreement is presented to NSG, presents laundry list of concerns in legislation.
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