India has voted against the provisions of draft resolutions that would have required it to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying there is "no question" of it joining the treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.
The first meeting was held in Singapore in June.
'Obama's visit to Hiroshima must generate a fresh debate in the international community about how to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons in international politics and how to disarm the world from these monstrous weapons forever,' says Sanjeev Shrivastav..
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The consideration by the then Indian Prime Minister was being made when the US was in an advanced stage of providing its fighter jets F-16 to Pakistan
Pakistan on Monday criticised the release by WikiLeaks of secret United States' diplomatic cables which raise concerns that radioactive material in nuclear power stations could be used in terror attacks. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit described the release of the sensitive documents as 'irresponsible behaviour' and said Pakistan is taking stock of revelations concerning the country.
The extended range of the missile which is part of the Strategic Forces Command will give a variety of options to the planners during times of conflict.
But the US will sell F-16 aircraft to Pakistan to fight 'terrorists.'
The agreement was reached in intensive negotiations between contact groups that Obama and Modi had set up in September.
'It's a threat to whoever you want, and it includes China, and it includes Russia and it includes anybody else that wants to play that game. You can't do that. You can't play that game on me'
Informing the world leaders of measures taken by him, Modi said India will continue to accord a high national priority to nuclear security through strong institutional framework, independent regulatory agency and trained and specialised manpower.
The Islamic State terror group may have developed a nuclear device by using radioactive uranium stolen from Iraq's Mosul University after seizing control of the city last June, according to a British media report.
The reimposition of sanctions on Iran will have major impact on countries like India, with which it has traditional and historic trade relationship.
'Decisions on nuclear power have so far been taken by a small select group, primarily interested in profiteering from their actions, stating 'secrecy' as necessary from the national security point.' 'This argument is false, because we are dealing with the 'civilian' nuclear power sector, which is open even to the IAEA,' says Dr A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Ambassador Pankaj Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), Geneva, said India has been drawing the attention of the world towards these threats and the need to strengthen international cooperation to address them through its annual consensus UNGA resolution titled 'Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction'.
At scaling back Tehran's nuclear programme and relieving the Islamic Republic from the sanctions
'If he were to drop even one nuclear weapon on Europe, it would start a nuclear war that would destroy everybody.'
The meeting of the foreign ministers of the P5+1 nations aimed to smoothen out major bumps in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran has ended with a positive note.
A new draft proposal circulated among Nuclear Suppliers Group member states early this month could pave the way for India to become a member of the elite club, but this is unlikely to happen before the end of the Barack Obama presidency next month.
The deal would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to India.
Putin also told his French counterpart that Kyiv does not comply with the agreements reached with Moscow on the evacuation of civilians from combat areas, the Kremlin said.
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.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The company is excited over the pact, which it says marks the 'start of a new relationship' between the two countries.
I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
The reversal of Trump's policy with regard to Iran, like the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, may not be a matter of just turning the clock back, but one of patient negotiations, with uncertain consequences in the post-COVID-19 world, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'India's specific concerns about whether Russia will be a reliable defense supplier and diplomatic partner in the event of heightened hostilities with China has undoubtedly accelerated the process of US-India defense and intelligence cooperation intended to support Indian military positions along the Line of Actual Control.'
rediffGURU Mayank Chandel offers advice to students interested in a careers in science or engineering after class 10 and 12.
'We think Pakistan has moved decisively against terrorists that threaten Pakistan internally, but still needs to devote attention to those that represent a threat to their neighbours.'
We are currently in a transition phase and its resultant turmoil as a titanic struggle between Indian and Western value systems is being waged, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Biden administration has reaffirmed its commitment to support India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
'They are taking the people of the country for granted.'
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.
The next plenary session of the Nuclear Suppliers Group is likely to be held in Swiss capital Bern next month.
'We will likely never know why Xi decided not to travel to New Delhi. One possible explanation could be his desire to avoid a meeting with US President Joe Biden.'
India has said it is committed to implementing the highest safety standards at its nuclear power plants as it seeks to harness the benefits of atomic energy to meet its growing energy requirements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the adoption of the New Delhi Leaders Declaration, a significant victory for India's G20 presidency that came amid increasing tensions and divergent views over the Ukraine conflict.
With Pakistan moving towards tactical nuclear weapons, there is an increasingly higher risk of nuclear theft, a US think-tank report has warned ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this month.
Four Nepalese nationals were arrested here on Saturday for possessing 2.5 kilogrammes of unprocessed uranium, with one of them claiming that her father-in-law 'brought' it from India where he worked in a uranium mine some 20 years ago, police said.
"Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration," Modi said while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
