Under the deal, to be ratified by the US Congress, Washington will lift sanctions on dual-use technology trade with India for which New Delhi will have to separate its civilian and military nuclear establishments.
The message is said to have been conveyed to a small group of top Indian-American community leaders on Monday by senior White House officials, a source privy to the goings on told PTI. "We are confident that just like last time, the bill will be passed by a substantial majority. With that a new era will begin for India's nuclear programme," the officials were quoted by the source as saying.
"It is important for us. It is important for the government of India. And we are determined to make it happen."
In its bid to offset the impact of Indo-US nuclear deal, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will take up the acquisition of nuclear fuel technology from China during his forthcoming visit.
Congressman Burton had led a delegation to India.
India's failure to implement the civil nuclear deal with the United States can lead to questions over its trustworthiness and may have an impact on New Delhi's quest for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has said.
Strongly defending the India-United States nuclear agreement, she said that there was a need to keep a certain pace in power generation if the pace of the country's progress has to be maintained. Gandhi added that there were certain elements in the country who were acting as impediments in the nation's progress and they need to be given a befitting reply. "Such elements are not only enemies of the Congress, but enemies of peace and development." she said.
Chances of the Indo-US nuclear deal going through the Congress this month got a boost Friday with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives and a leading Democrat hoping that the 30-day rule for the legislation to be considered will be waived. Pelosi also said that the deal has the support of the House and hoped it can be considered before the Congress session ends on September 26.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury disagreed with recent opinion poll findings that the Left would receive a drubbing if the country went to polls on the nuclear issue.
Contending that the Left has the right to express its views, he said, "I am hopeful the deal will come through and if not, it will be unfortunate for the country." To a question, he also said, "Anyway, we all are preparing for elections."
They said that India and the US should put on a fast track the negotiations with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency and pave the way for signing the pact.
More than a year after Indo-US civilian nuclear deal was signed, a Congressional report has said that several steps, including submission of required certifications by President Barack Obama, remain to be taken by both the countries before American companies can begin nuclear trade with New Delhi.
As the prime minister prepares to make a speech about the deal in the Parliament on Monday, what do you think the Left should do?
Left leaders said the statement makes it very clear that the government will not operationalise the deal till the committee's findings are known
The PM will also ask Howard to sell uranium to India.
Despite optimism that the deal will be sealed, differences marred talks between the two sides.
Swadesh Chatterjee, coordinator of the US-India Friendship Council--the umbrella organization of community groups--that was formed exclusively to lobby on behalf of the deal in Congress, said, "Disappointment is an understatement."
Left parties on Wednesday warned the government that it would commit an "illegal act" if it tried to dilute the Civil Nuclear Liability Act or signed any agreement for supply of nuclear reactors during the upcoming United States visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
When she served in the United States Congress, Democrat Ellen Tauscher was one of the most vehement critics of the Indo-United States civilian nuclear deal.
Apparently not giving up hopes on persuading the Left on the Indo-US nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said at the India-Brazil-South Africa summit on October 17 that the process of evolving a 'meaningful consensus is still on.'
The ranking Republican on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, has bemoaned the fact that more than three years after the historic US-India civilian nuclear deal was signed, it still remains in limbo sans any implementation.
During last week's Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama asked the media to leave and then screened videos depicting plausible scenarios pertaining to nuclear terrorism.
Ahead of the United Progressive Alliance-Left coordination committee meeting on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the government on Saturday expressed hope that the differences with the supporting allies on the issue will be resolved. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in Chandigarh that he was engaged in talks with the Left on the deal to sort out the matter.
India's enhanced non- proliferation commitments under the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal constitute a "net gain" for the global non-proliferation regime, the Bush administration said on Thursday, adding there were "powerful" strategic, political, economic and environmental reasons" to support the initiative.
CP!-M general secretary Prakash Karat has written to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, government's key interlocutor with the allies on the deal, asking for immediate convening of a meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal by mid-March.
He said the USINPAC delegation would meet Bhartiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh and leaders of the Left party who have expressed their apprehension over the nuclear deal.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said that all senior ministers should be present during the debate on the India-United States nuclear agreement in Parliament next week in the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will be on an international visit. Chatterjee played down the Opposition's objection over Singh's visit abroad during the debate on the nuclear deal, saying the Prime Minister cannot avoid traveling as he is required to represent the country.
India needs to recognise and address challenges posed by its dependence on China for critical minerals and examine the implications of phasing down coal on bank balance sheets as it accelerates its green transition, the government's Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday said. As part of its national plan to contribute to meeting the global goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to reducing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.
'If we approach the 123 Agreement as a device to open the door to international cooperation and not as a fundamental document, it may be possible to find the middle path soon.'
The Left, which provides crucial outside support to the ruling Congress-led UPA, has threatened the government with mid-term polls if the talks with IAEA for the implementation of the Indo-US deal continue beyond December.
Ahead of the crucial Itentaional Atomic Energy Agency meeting on Friday, a group of arms control experts has urged both the atomic watchdog and Nuclear Suppliers Group to look at the Indo-US nuclear deal 'very carefully and remove all ambiguities'.
Preparations are on in full swing by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited to receive the plants and all them will most likely be of the European Pressurised Water Reactor type, a third generation design.
As the United States Senate prepared for a crucial hearing on the Indo-US nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in the midst of another round of hectic lobbying with key lawmakers to secure Congress' approval of the pact before its session ends on September 26. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee' hearing later on Tuesday is seen as a positive sign in getting the endorsement of the Senate for the nuke deal.
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