External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Communist Party of India - Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday to discuss the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement. Mukherjee asked the Left Front to allow the United Progressive Alliance government to go ahead with the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Several NSG countries like Britain, France and Russia besides the US have expressed their approval of the deal but some of its members, particularly the Scandinavian nations, have reservations.
Manmohan Singh had told his team to "call off" the Indo-US civil nuclear deal a night before its scheduled announcement by President George Bush after Americans came with a killer proposal to let India have just two of its nuclear reactors out of the international safeguards, a top aide of the former Prime Minister has said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs favoured expeditious resumption of fuel supplies to the country's civil nuclear plants.
Will the external affairs minister's foreign travels end up affecting his chances at the hustings?
India and Japan will hold the fourth strategic dialogue on Saturday when Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada arrives in New Delhi, during which the two sides will discuss a wide gamut of issues, including civil nuclear cooperation and ways to enhance bilateral trade ties.
Ahmed filed an application seeking details about the controversial and much talked about Indo-US nuclear deal as there were apprehensions regarding the sovereignty of the country.
Russia and China have a broad consensus today on almost all core issues related to global strategic stability, which is unprecedented in modern history, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to Dawn, Modi in his message reiterated India's desire to build good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday spoke to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee over telephone about the bilateral nuclear deal. During the conversation, Rice conveyed to Mukherjee that the US was keen on moving ahead with the civilian nuclear deal, informed State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. McCormack said, "She (Rice) still supports it going forward. We have conveyed that to the Indian government at a number of different levels."
Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG at the just--concluded Seoul plenary, is not a member of 34-nation MTCR.
Mukherjee said the international community could have trade with India after a safeguards agreement is in place.
North Korea is unlikely to strike first, but its response in retaliation, if attacked, could be massive even at the expense of its own destruction, says Rajaram Panda.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit has criticised Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for his remarks that any further terror attack on India originating from Pakistani soil would greatly severe relations, said Islamabad cannot be 'bullied' by such statements.
The terrible beauty of Doval's initiative is that it is all about a new journey rather than about a set compass pointing toward a pre-determined destination, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a significant development, Australia on Tuesday promised to support the Indo-US civil nuclear deal in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and indicated its readiness to supply uranium to India.
With the situation in Ladakh tense and no resolution in sight the trigger to take the India-US relationship to a transformational one is already there, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
If India feels it is necessary to conduct a nuclear test because of the geo-political situation, India will do it, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha.
This will be the fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014.
War is not a solution to problems between India and Pakistan and only "foolish" people would consider such an option, says Pakistan High Commissioner B S Basit.
China on Monday said differences remain among members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group over the inclusion of new countries and the issue was not even on the agenda of the grouping's meeting in Seoul this week, a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that Beijing was not opposing India's entry
As per the Indo-US deal, the NSG is required to adjust its guidelines to allow the international community to have civil nuclear cooperation with India.
Lantos said the objective of his legislation is two-fold: "To prevent Iran from securing nuclear arms and the means to produce them. And to ensure that we achieve this goal in a peaceful manner."
India, the world's third biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports.
The apex court also pulled up the Gujarat government for extending the deadline till July next year for hospitals to rectify the building by-laws violations, and said the "carte blanche" notification was in teeth of its order of December 18 last year and people will continue to die in fire incidents.
The United States is talking to both India and Pakistan about their nuclear programmes, a top Obama Administration official has said.
'No Match' crowed the front page of an Indian newspaper, on Monday
The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs.
The government on Friday said that the G-8 resolution -- on curbing the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology to non-Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty signatory countries -- was 'not a legally binding document' and hoped individual nations will implement civil nuclear agreements with India on bilateral basis. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also allayed concerns over the End-User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) with the United States.
Modi will embark on a three-nation tour beginning March 30 during which he will attend the crucial Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, India-EU Summit in Brussels and travel to Saudi Arabia, a key partner of India in the sensitive Gulf region.
Lauding India for successfully avoiding a "clash of civilisations", Fontelles said the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi could play an important role in this regard.
'The nuclear deal required Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to gamble the future of his government on a vision for the future of his nation.'
A closed-door meeting of the NSG has been convened by the US on the sidelines of the 51st general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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.
Former Indian Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran will headline a major conference this week on the expectations and consequences of the US-India Nuclear Agreement, hosted by The Brookings Institution,
The external affairs minister also said that Pakistan openly practises terrorism and there is no scope for negotiations until Islamabad reins in its financing and recruitment of militant groups.
The call on came ahead of wide-ranging talks between Modi and his counterpart Abe
The United States has urged countries near North Korea against developing nuclear deterrents despite the threat posed by the impoverished hermit nation's growing missile and nuclear prowess.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup also asserted that India's participation in the NSG would have further strengthened nuclear non-proliferation regime and made global nuclear commerce more secure.
