The Congress on Thursday said it was wrong to interpret the request for convening the meeting of Board of Governors of IAEA as going to IAEA.
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 on Friday said it could not ignore the conclusions of the International Atomic Energy watchdog IAEA on Iran's nuclear enrichment programme before deciding to vote against Tehran, but felt the door for dialogue with it should be open.
The UPA government on Friday insisted that the country's "sovereign" interests, including in strategic nuclear field, were protected in the IAEA safeguards agreement and expressed confidence about getting an exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
The safeguards issue is unlikely to come up at Thursday's meeting of IAEA's Board of Governors and will come up for approval at a special Board meeting later. IAEA Director General Mohamed El-Baradei and Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar initiated the talks.
India will complete the process of putting its 14 civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards by the year end as part of a commitment made under the Indo-US nuclear deal.
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.
The United States and the European Union on Friday led the international community in promptly welcoming the International Atomic Energy Agency's approval of India-specific safeguards agreement, saying it will boost non-proliferation efforts and hoped that the Nuclear Suppliers' Group will too give a waiver to New Delhi for nuclear commerce.
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.
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.
The crises of the 21st century, 9/11, the economic meltdown, COVID-19, Russia-Iran war and the Hamas-Israel war seem to be never ending. In this situation, Iran might be contemplating a nuclear deterrent to defend itself, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the distinguished long-time Rediff contributor who turns 80 on June 17..
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.
Iran has threatened to review its economic and political relations with the countries that voted for the referral to UNSC.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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