US welcomes India's decision to allocate sites for N-plants

The US has welcomed India's decision to allocate sites for its two nuclear plants, saying the key step is a recognition of trust and brings the two nations closer to full cooperation on safe and clean energy sources.

On behalf of the people of the United States of America, I am very pleased with this key step that brings our two great nations closer to full cooperation on safe and clean energy sources, US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said in a statement in New Delhi after India made the announcement on Friday.

The government announced that it has allocated sites in Chhayamithi Virdi, in Gujarat, and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh for the United States for the construction of civil nuclear power plants in pursuance to the agreement with the US for expanded cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.



This important announcement comes in welcome recognition of the trust and confidence as well as the growing partnership between our two countries, the Ambassador said.

He said the development not only promises to deliver greater access to clean and affordable energy and electricity for all Indians but also will produce jobs and economic opportunities for the people of both India and the United States.

Along with the two sites for the US, the government also announced earmarking of two sites -- Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and Haripur (West Bengal) -- for Russian nuclear plants and one in Jaitapur (Maharashtra) for France in pursuance to civil nuclear deals signed with them.

India need not import LWR after 2050: Kakodkar

India need not import light water reactors (LWRs) after 2050 as it would by then have a matured fast breeder technology and be ready to use Thorium technology, said Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar.

Indian nuclear community should not have any confusion regarding this as there are talks going around about using Thorium even before the fast breeder technology is matured, Kakodkar said, delivering Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Foundation day lecture.

Although country has large amount of Thorium and would be a priority for long time in the future, India has to follow the well thought out plan of three-stage programme of Homi J Bhabha as Thorium does not provide fast growth.

India needs fast growth and such growth can be sustained by fast breeder reactors (FBRs) with a multiplier effect.

"If you deploy thorium out of turn (before stage II maturity), which does not support growth out of turn, then you will not get large generating capacity," he said, talking on 'Developing Nuclear Technology for our energy independence: the grand challenge', in Mumbai on Monday.

India to receive uranium from Kazakhstan

India could soon receive up to 2500 tonnes of uranium from Kazakhstan as an agreement in this regard is set to be signed between the two sides by the month-end.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Kazatomprom are holding talks and a contract for supply of uranium is expected to be signed by the end of this month, Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Umarov told a news agency in New Delhi.



The fuel will be meant for the existing nuclear plants that are under IAEA safeguards, he said.



On the quantity of uranium to be supplied under the contract, Umarov said he was not aware as the companies were dealing with the issue directly.



Sources, however, said the discussions centered around supply of 2500 tonnes, a quantity which India wanted for running its reactors to full capacity.



Incidentally, China recently signed an agreement with Kazakhstan, one of the largest producers of uranium, for supply of 23000 tonnes of the nuclear fuel till 2020.



China is expanding its nuclear industry and in this regard is building 50 nuclear power stations.



Umarov expressed hope that the first contract between the companies of India and Kazakhstan would lay foundation for to long-term association.

India can buy uranium anytime and stockpile: Canada

Canada, one of the key members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), on Thursday said that India can order for uranium anytime and can even stockpile.

"India can place order for uranium anytime and they can also stockpile it," Gerald W Grandey, President and chief Executive Officer of Cameco Corporation of Canada (largest suppliers of uranium) told reporters on the sidelines of Homi Bhabha's Centenary celebrations' inauguration.

"We have been waiting for a long time for the Indo-US deal to come through and since IAEA India specific agreement and NSG's waiver are in place, we are keen that India buys uranium from Canada anytime," Grandey, a key person who helped in the Indo-US deal process, said.

"Now it is up to India how soon they want and how much and under what conditions," he said adding "we are ready, the decision lies with New Delhi as the customer is always right."

Grandey said, the contractual agreements are not done overnight, it takes its own time and since they had been waiting for long, they wanted India to do it fast.

Replying a query on stockpiling, Grandey said, "stockpiling is a normal thing and under the general policy, one can stockpile for one or two years. Since in Asian countries due to scarcity of supply of uranium, they can stockpile even up to three years of inventories just as Japan has done."

When asked about the price of uranium, he said if it is bought in the spot market, it would cost USD 45 per pound while when bought on a long-term contract it would be USD 70 per pound.

"However, there are varieties of contracts and depending on the relationship between the suppliers and utility (in this case NPCIL) one can fix the price favourably for future delivery," he added.

Grandey said Canada is also interested in cooperation in other parallel fuel cycle process as both India and Canada are having Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor programme.

"We are going to have great opportunity of cooperation in the coming years," he added.

Meanwhile, chief of Canadian Atomic Energy commission is expected to visit India on November six to discuss civil nuclear cooperation, said Chairman and Managing director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India, S K Jain.

Jain said, "although NPCIL can go ahead to buy uranium for the first two units of Tarapur Atomic plants and Rajasthan atomic plants, which are under separate safeguards agreement with IAEA, we will wait till the Indo-US deal is ratified by India and US."

Since NSG waiver is there, some steps can be taken immediately," he added.

India, US sign landmark 123 Agreement

India and the US have operationalised the "path-breaking" bilateral nuclear deal as they signed the 123 Agreement in Washington, with New Delhi insisting that the accord is "legally-binding" on both sides.


External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put the final seal on the agreement at an impressive ceremony held in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department, culminating a crisis-ridden process initiated on 18th July 2005 in Washington during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit for talks with US President George W. Bush.


"Both India and the US Administration have now completed all our internal procedures to be able to sign this path breaking agreement," Mukherjee said after signing the agreement, paving the way for entry of American companies into the Indian nuclear market after three decades.

"Today is an important day for India-US relations, for global energy security and for our common endeavour to promote sustainable development while addressing environmental challenges," he said at the ceremony held at the State Department.

Noting that the agreement reflects a "careful balance of rights and obligations", he said "its (agreement's) provisions are now legally-binding on both sides once the agreement enters into force."


This comment assumes significance since the US had said that the contents of the 123 Agreement were a political commitment and not legally binding, triggering concerns in India over aspects like promises on nuclear fuel assurances.


He said the importance of the Agreement is that it was the first step to civil nuclear cooperation and trade between India and the US.


"It is also the first step to India's cooperation with the rest of the world in civil nuclear energy," he said.

He said the signing of the agreement has brought to fruition three years of "extraordinary effort" by both India and the US and it was "one more visible sign of the transformed relationship and partnership" that the two countries are building.

"We now look forward to working with US companies on the commercial steps that will follow to implement this landmark agreement," Mukherjee said.


The External Affairs Minister described the agreement as the first step to India's cooperation with the rest of the world in civil nuclear field.


By reinforcing and increasing the nuclear element in the country's energy mix, which is vital to sustain India's growth rate, nuclear power will directly boost industrial growth, rural development and help expand every vital sector of the country's economy, he said.


"It enables India to respond with her global partners to the challenges of climate change and global warming by strengthening her own economic growth and sustainable development," he said.


Mukherjee said the wide-ranging initiatives announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush in July 2005 and March 2006 have led to a transformed relationship between the two countries.


Praising Bush, Rice and the American Congress besides the Indian-American community for making the agreement a reality, the External Affairs Minister said New Delhi looks forward to working with Washington in other fields as well.



He listed these as combating terrorism, containing and fighting pandemics, climate change, ensuring food security, cooperating in disaster relief operations and other regional and global initiatives.

CCPA approves Indo-US nuke agreement for signing today

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) last night approved the landmark accord to implement the civil nuclear deal that will be inked by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a meeting of his senior Cabinet colleagues in New Delhi discussed the final shape of the agreement and the accompanying statement by President George W Bush after which the go ahead was given for signing the agreement on Friday.



On Wednesday, Bush had signed into law the enabling Congressional legislation that approved the agreement.


The over two-hour long meeting, which was attended by Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railways minister Lalu Yadav is understood to have analysed Bush's statement threadbare on whether it met India's concerns, particularly over fuel supply assurances.


Addressing New Delhi's concerns on certain provisions in the US Congressional legislation on the nuclear deal, Bush assured India that the new law makes no changes on fuel supply assurance commitments or the terms of the 123 agreement.


Signing the bill into law at a ceremony in the White House, Bush said "the bill approves the 123 agreement I submitted to Congress and establishes the legal framework for that agreement to come into effect."


At the same time, he maintained that the agreement with India was consistent with the US Atomic Energy Act and other elements of the US law.


Concerns had arisen in India over fuel assurances after statements by officials in the US that these guarantees were merely political in nature and not legally binding.

Bush to sign nuke deal legislation on Wednesday

Asserting that that there are "no open issues" on the nuclear deal, the US President George W Bush will sign the legislation on the Indo-US nuclear deal, approved by the Congress, into a law on Wednesday.


Bush will sign the Bill H R 7081, named after Howard Berman, a Democrat who was strongly opposed to the deal on non-proliferation grounds but was brought around to accept it recently, on 8th October at the White House.

"The President will sign the legislation (passed by the US Congress) very soon. He wants to do it very soon. There are administrative reasons," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a press conference after talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The bill once passed has to be transmitted to the White House.

It has been a busy time for last several weeks, she said explaining the reasons for the delay in signing the legislation by Bush.

Rice's visit coming shortly after the Congress approval of the legislation sparked speculation that the 123 would come up for signing with Mukherjee today.

In fact, she had rescheduled the visit by a couple of days.

"The President is looking forward to signing it very soon. The Hyde Act is completely consistent with 123 agreement....123 agreement is consistent with the Hyde Act. The US will keep its commitments to both," she said in reply to a question why there has been a delay and whether there were concerns on the Indian side.

"We don't have open issues," Rice said adding it was a matter of administrative and procedural details which would be worked out.

In his reply Mukherjee said once the President signs it into law and the process is complete "we will be in a position to sign the agreement on a mutually convenient date.
"I hope it will be signed shortly."

In their opening remarks at the joint press conference, both the leaders expressed satisfaction over their talks and the state of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"India-US relations are today better than ever before and have transformed into a truly strategic partnership," Mukherjee said.

Reciprocating his feelings, Rice said the two countries were executing the vision of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush for closer and deeper relations between the two countries.

"The civil nuclear initiative is a historic agreement and historic achievement. The US will stand by its commitments," she said adding the US cooperated with India in the IAEA in view of its track record in non-proliferation.

"It gives us a new platform for cooperation in energy matters to develop civil nuclear power. We have opened new channels with India in areas of technology, agriculture, education and defence cooperation."

She said it was now now one of the broadest relations US enjoyed with India.

She also hoped that whoever succeeds Bush as President (after the November elections) would continue to build on the "strongest relationship" that the two leaders initiated in 2005.

Mukherjee said India-US relationship today had more than bilateral significance and the two countries were working together on a wide range issues including climate change and on UN Security Council.

He said the vision of this relationship chalked out by Singh and Bush would serve the interest of not not only India but the people of the region and the world.

Rice arrives in New Delhi; 123 pact not to be signed

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Saturday on a day-long visit but the 123 Agreement will not be signed during her stay.


Rice will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on a wide range of issues, including the civil nuclear initiative.

The two sides had initially earmarked 2 pm as the tentative time for signing of the 123 Agreement, but procedural issues like delay in US President George W Bush signing the legislation passed by the Congress into law, forced the signing of the deal to be called off.



India wants to see Bush first sign the legislation into law as it expects the US President's accompanying statement to clarify certain aspects, particularly assurance of fuel supply, that have created apprehensions in New Delhi.


The US side which was keen to sign the agreement during this visit has said that it was not necessary for Bush to sign the legislation before the two countries ink the agreement and that he can do so later also.



Rice and Mukherjee will also discuss trade and counter-terrorism besides issues related to the region.



Rice will also meet BJP leader L K Advani.

Rice to travel to India today

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to India on Friday for a two-day visit, during which the 123 agreement may be signed.


The State Department said she will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, discussing a wide range of issues, including the civil nuclear initiative.


"They (Rice and Indian leaders) are obviously going to talk about the (civil nuclear)agreement and what it means for the relationship," Department Spokesman McCormack said.



He, however, refused to say categorically whether the 123 agreement, which has been approved by the US Congress, would be signed during Rice's visit.



Sources in New Delhi, however, said the signing of the agreement was high on the agenda of the visit.



"The President has to sign it... I would expect that there will be a number of other administrative or bureaucratic steps along the way... If there are any further events, you know, signings or anything else around this agreement in India, we'll let you know.... Right now I don't have anything to announce," the Spokesman said.



"I'm sure that there are going to be other things that, you know -- for example, enrolling a bill for the president... to sign legislation."



"And I'm sure on the Indian side perhaps there are other such things. But, again, I'm not going to concern myself with those kind of bureaucratic things. It's not a question whether they are going to happen, but, you know, but when, and it's a matter of people doing those things. So I'm not trying to indicate any obstacles to this," McCormack said.



On the nuclear deal, he said, "It, in our view, will mean a different kind of relationship between the United States and India for decades to come."

US Senate to vote on N-deal on Wednesday

The US Senate plans to take up and vote on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal on Wednesday, three days after the House of Representatives approved the accord, Senate majority leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.


The legislation on the deal will in all probability be taken up after sundown local time (early Thursday morning IST), after another pending legislation the Rail Safety Amtrak bill is voted on by lawmakers.


"... we're going to move to continue on the consideration of HR 2095, the Rail Safety Amtrak legislation debate today... there will be no roll call votes today in honour of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, but we will have votes tomorrow evening after sundown," Senator Reid said on the Floor of the Senate at the start of the day's proceedings.


"We're still working on agreement to consider the US-India nuclear agreement. I'm quite sure we can finalise that so there can be a vote on that tomorrow," Reid said before speaking on the implications of the financial stabilisation package that has been rejected by the House of Representatives.


Unlike the House of Representatives which needed a two-thirds majority, the Senate requires only a simple majority to approve the legislation.


Before the House rejected the USD 700 billion bailout package to rescue bankrupt financial institutions on Monday, Reid had said the "India nuclear agreement" will be coming up for a vote only on Wednesday along with the financial bill, when the Senate reconvenes after the Jewish holiday.


A clearance in the Senate will allow India and the US to sign the landmark accord and resume bilateral nuclear trade.



India today signed a civil atomic cooperation agreement with France today, ending 34-years of nuclear isolation.

India, France sign civil nuclear cooperation pact

Scripting a new era in bilateral ties, India and France on Tuesday signed a landmark agreement on civil nuclear cooperation that covers supply of reactors and atomic fuel in the first concrete step to bring New Delhi back into the nuclear mainstream after 34 years of isolation.


"We expect to finalise agreements with other European partners too" on civil nuclear cooperation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after holding talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Tuesday.



France is the first country to open nuclear commerce with India after the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted a waiver to New Delhi on 6th September.



The Indo-US nuclear deal is awaiting Congressional nod and an agreement on it between the two countries is expected to be inked soon.



"Today we have added a new dimension to our strategic partnership by signing an inter-governmental agreement on civil nuclear cooperation," Singh said after the Indo-France Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed in the presence of the two leaders by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.



The agreement will form the basis of wide ranging bilateral cooperation from basic and applied research to full civil nuclear cooperation including reactors, fuel supplies, nuclear safety, radiation and environment protection and nuclear fuel cycle management.



The atomic pact is one of the three agreements signed during Singh's two-day visit to Paris. The other two relates to social security matters which will benefit Indian and French nationals staying in each others countries on short duration up to five years and a Long Term Agreement on utilisation of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launch services.



"France is the first country with whom we have entered into such an agreement after the lifting of international restrictions on civil nuclear cooperation with India by the NSG. I conveyed to President Sarkozy our gratitude for France's consistent support to our civil nuclear initiative," Singh said.



The two countries decided to give a new impetus to their cooperation for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as an expression of their strategic partnership.



A statement on the agreement said both sides recognise nuclear energy as a reliable source of sustainable and non-polluting energy, it could make a significant contribution to meeting the global challenge of achieving energy security.



It also noted that both the countries share common concerns and objectives in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery including in view of possible linkages to terrorism.



As responsible states with advanced nuclear technologies, including in the fuel cycle, the two countries are interested to promote nuclear energy with the highest standards of safety and security, the statement said.



Wrapping up his 10-day visit to the US and France, Singh addressed India-EU Business Summit, during which he said New Delhi expects to finalise agreements on civil nuclear cooperation with other European countries.



Under the social security agreement inked on Tuesday, workers on short term contract up to five years, do not have to make any social security contribution provided they continue to make social security payment in India and France respectively.



For Indians working in France, these benefits shall be available even when the Indian company sends its employees to the French Republic from a third country.



The agreement will result in benefits for Indian nationals when working in France and French nationals in India.



Indian workers would be entitled to the export of social security benefits if they relocate to India after the completion of their service in France.



Another pact was signed between ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair and Francois Auque, CEO of Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace and defence space systems and services.



The agreement enables Astrium to offer attractive solutions in the international markets for in-orbit delivery of its earth observation satellites, using the PSLV launch services from Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO.



Along the past six years, both companies have been successfully cooperating in the field of space activities, as evidenced by the award of two telecommunication satellite contracts, W2M for Eutelsat and HYLAS for Avanti Systems.

House of Reps to vote on Indo-US nuke deal tonight

The House of Representatives has wrapped up the 40 minute debate on the bill on the Indo-US nuclear deal since the voting on the bill will take place later tonight.


Meanwhile, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has indicated that the legislation on the subject in the upper Chamber will be taken up and passed only next week.

However, support for the nuclear deal came from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman.

A known opponent of the deal, Berman, supported the Senate version of the Bill saying the deal is a positive step as it will bring India into the non-proliferation regime.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, a known opponent of the deal, supported the Senate version of the Bill saying the deal is a positive step as it will bring India into the non-proliferation regime.

Fellow Democrat Edward Markey, who lead the charge on behalf of those opposed to the Bill, insisted on a recorded vote at the end of the debate following which the voting was postponed and it is now expected to be taken up on Sunday.

"I'm a strong advocate of closer US-India ties, including peaceful nuclear cooperation. I voted for the Hyde act which established a framework for such cooperation. The bill before us today will approve the US-India agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation," Burman said.



"Integrating India into a global nonproliferation regime is a positive step," he said, adding Bush Administration has assured him they will push for an NSG decision prohibiting the export of enrichment and reprocessing equipment and technologies to states that are not party to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).



Fellow Democrat Ellen Tauscher, however, disagreed maintaining that the Bill flies in the face of decades of American leadership to contain the spread of the weapons of mass destruction.



"The India deal would give a country with a dismal record of nonproliferation all the benefits of nuclear trade with none of the responsibilities. India has been denied access to the market for three decades and for good reason."



"India is not a signatory of the nonproliferation treaty and has not agreed to disarmament or signed the treaty," Congresswoman Tauscher said.



The debate on the House floor brought out law makers along expected lines in supporting and opposing the revised Bill introduced by Chairman Berman, who had reservations over the deal and is understood to have brought the second version after senior Bush Administration officials talked to him on the need for early nod to the civil nuclear initiative.



However, the Congressman said he still has concerns about ambiguities in the agreement and that several documents should be inserted to clarify these.



"These documents constitute key and dispositive parts of the authoritative representations described in section 102 of this bill which gives the right to disapprove a presidential decision to resume civil nuclear cooperation with any country, not just India, that tests a nuclear weapon.



"It will also ensure that India takes the necessary remaining steps to bring its IAEA safeguards agreement fully into force and include an additional protocol...I will be voting for H R 7081," the senior Democrat said at the end of his opening statement.



Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ros Lehtinen also voiced support for the legislation.



"The US-India nuclear cooperation agreement is not one we would offer to just any nation. It is a venture we would enter into only with our most trusted, democratic allies. I believe that stronger economic, scientific, diplomatic and military cooperation between the US and India is in the national interest of both countries," the Florida Congresswoman said.



"... this nuclear cooperation agreement is essential in continuing to ensure India's active involvement in dissuading, isolating, and if necessary sanctioning and containing Iran for its efforts to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapon capabilities," Ros-Lehtinen said.



A strong supporter of India and currently the Chair of the Sub Committee on Middle East and South Asia Democrat Gary Ackerman strongly supported the Bill.



"It (the approval of the deal) means the IAEA will be able to inspect two-thirds of India's nuclear facilities because those will be under safeguards and all civilian nuclear facilities will also be under safeguards. For the first time ever India will commit to guidelines and will adhere to the NSG guidelines," Ackerman said.



The deal will send a clear message to "rogue states" that responsible nuclear powers are welcomed by the international community, the former Co-Chair of the Congressional India Caucus on India and Indian Americans said.



"India would pursue its national interests as it's been doing outside of the nonproliferation mainstream and we get to inspect nothing. The other is to make a deal with India and the US and the international community will get a window in perpetuity into two-thirds of India's nuclear facilities...”



"The choice is clear, it's time for 21st century policy toward India and encourages India's growth as a nuclear power and solidifies our relationship for decades to come," the New York Democrat said.


But another Democrat from California Lynn Woolsey cautioned the agreement will permanently undermine decades of nonproliferation efforts.



"It sets a frightening precedent. If a country is unhappy about the rules of nuclear possession, it can simply go around them, breaking them."

"And what does it matter India ignored the international agreement? Any sanction? Any punishment? Nope. Just a lucrative deal with the US. If we approve this deal, we lose our moral high ground," she added.





For most part of the debate, the support for the Bill came along bi-partisan lines.



Massachussetts Democrat Markey, the top opponent of the Bill, questioned not only the judgement of Bush administration in going for the deal but also the non-proliferation gains.



"Most people think this is a debate about India. It is not. This is a debate about Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Venezuela, about any other country in the world that harbours the goal of acquiring nuclear weapons. With this vote, we are shattering the nonproliferation rules, and the next three countries to march through the broken glass will be Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan," Markey said in closing comments.



"This is an all out nuclear arms race. Pakistan will respond. That is what President Bush should be working on, not fueling it, but trying to negotiate an end to it," he said.



A prominent supporter of India South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson argued a vote in favour of the nuclear deal will be a "giant step forward" in strengthening America's partnership with the people of India.



"... the two nations have a vested and shared interest in expanding opportunities to compete in the global economy. US chamber of commerce has estimated that this civilian nuclear agreement will create as many as 250,000 high-tech jobs right here in America," Wilson said.



California Republican Ed Royce called the Hyde Act as a tremendous foreign policy achievement of the 109th Congress but added the "failure by this congress to push this agreement across the finish line would be foreign policy malpractice".



"The Indian nuclear industry will overcome international restrictions and will reach their full potential to do this. Opposing this won't effect India. It will only hurt our relationship with India and US interests... other countries, notably France and Russia, can enter the Indian nuclear market with a potential USD 100 billion investment," he said.

Congress should not rush through nuclear deal: Berman

New York, Sept 7 :: The US Congress should not rush through the Indo-US nuclear deal until the Bush Administration proved that it did not cut any "side deals" at the NSG meeting to get the India-specific waiver, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman has warned.
Berman, a well-known opponent of the Indo-US nuclear deal, said he would not consider any "expedited" timetable for considering the Indo-US agreement until the Bush administration provides him with more information about the negotiations held at the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna.

The Democrat had raised a political storm in India by releasing the 26-page responses by the State Department to 45 questions on the Indo-US nuclear deal posed by his predecessor Tom Lantos way back in October last year.

The US position in the letter appeared at variance with New Delhi's interpretation of some key clauses of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Berman told the New York Times that he wants to check that the Bush administration did not cut any side deals with 45-member grouping to get their backing.

He said he wanted to ensure, for instance, that the United States did not say any countries could sell nuclear technology to India that the US is currently prohibited from selling.

"Ultimately, the burden was on the White House to convince Congress that the nuclear pact needed to be authorised in a 'rushed' fashion," he said.

Barman's comments came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said time was short and she has talked to the heads of the Committees of both the houses of Congress for pushing through the deal

Nuclear deal to power India Inc’s growth engine

The mood is again upbeat among engineering companies. From having to fret about losing top talent to overseas companies, this core sector feels it is all set to see a sharp increase in business contracts, thanks to the Nuclear Suppliers Group’s decision that has overturned a three-decade-long ban on India buying materials related to nuclear energy.

However, actual contracts could take more than three to four years as varied issues, such as financial assistance and legal, regulatory and safety issues, are spelt out clearly and local capability is developed. It is expected that the nuclear agreement with the US may allow India to generate 40,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2020. The waiver and the prospects of a possible Indo-US nuclear deal has led global nuclear power majors, such as General Electric, Westinghouse, Areva and Rosatom, are expected to relaunch talks for manufacturing and supply of nuclear power equipment while also initiating parallel negotiations with the state-owned Nuclear Power Corp of India for supply of nuclear fuel and technology for existing power plants and upcoming projects, said sources close to the development. Top engineering companies such as Larsen & Toubro and are also keen.

Global uranium suppliers led by Australian, Kazakh and Canadian firms, are also eyeing fuel supply contracts with NPCIL, said the sources who can’t be named. L&T, India’s largest engineering company, expects a sharp increase in interest in nuclear energy. “Foreign companies have been in talks with us frequently to assess our expertise ever since the India-US nuclear talks started,” said a senior official with L&T. “We expect the negotiations to resume now as India has become a member of the Nuclear Club,” he added.

Recently, L&T chairman AM Naik told ET that that his company is ready for its foray into building nuclear reactors. “We will invest about Rs 1,800 crore for a forging unit through a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corp,” Mr Naik had said.

The agreement with the US is likely to generate orders of more than $10 billion for companies such as L&T and Bhel. This is expected to boost revenues for these companies and also stem flight of executives from large companies such as L&T which have seen alarming attrition levels of 15%.

“(However) the whole process will take some time,” said Kameswara Rao, India leader (power practice) at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Apart from developing local capability, we also need to look for clarity on the financial issues as not many multilateral agencies lend to nuclear projects,” he added. The options then include tapping bilateral loan guarantees and also facilitating uranium mining, apart from developing private public partnership models. India’s nuclear reactors are operating at just 55-60% capacity due to low-uranium supplies which face restrictions after India blasted its first atom bomb at Pokhran in 1974.

State-owned Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCIL), the monopoly nuclear power generator, has identified four reactor manufacturers — Westinghouse Electric Company (AP1000 series of reactors), GE-Hitachi (ABWR reactor series), Areva (1,000 mw European pressurised reactors) and Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom (VVER 1,000 reactors) — as among the frontrunners for new projects planned across the country. This is based on “suitability” of technical parameters for placement of orders that will form the first phase of the Centre’s plan to build 40,000 mw of nuclear capacity by 2020.

The nuclear space is currently dominated by leading companies from Russia and France, which have sophisticated nuclear technologies. Areva, a France-based company with a listed unit in India, has already said it plans to join hands with Indian firms for production of nuclear power equipment. “We are negotiating with Indian companies for a possible joint production in India,” Areva president Anne Lauvergeon said recently.

Private energy companies were cautious talking about the deal. Reliance Energy officials were tight-lipped. A spokesperson for the Mumbai-based electricity company that is part of the Anil Ambani group, said that the deal would be good for the country and that the company is willing to wait and see how it unfolds. Tata Power is another private company that has been waiting for India’s nuclear isolation to end so that it could foray into nuclear power. About a year ago, the company had initiated talks with Areva on sourcing of nuclear power equipment.

Tata Power recently said it was planning a minimum $3 billion investment in nuclear energy, either on its own or through joint ventures.

The local capability also needs to be developed. Tata group’s TRF executive director RC Nandrajog says that immediate benefits may not be there, “but once there are efforts to build plants, we will see lot of business on fabrication and engine making.”

While French nuclear major Areva NP and Russian state-owned firm Rosatom are among the companies keenly eyeing the Indian nuclear pie, US players such as General Electric and Toshiba Corp-owned Westinghouse Electric are other key players waiting for a ratification by the US Congress.

Russian firms are currently helping India build two 1,000-MWe (megawatt electric) light water reactors at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu and plans for an additional six units could be speeded up.

US-based nuclear firms, meanwhile, will wait for the approval from the US Congress to resume trade with India. If this happens GE would act upon its joint venture with Hitachi for the Indian market and has recently been reported to be open to local partnerships.

Banking, capital goods stocks rally

Key benchmark indices saw strong start after the 45-nation Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) on Saturday, 6 September 2008 reached a consensus on the crucial Indo-US nuke deal agreeing on a clean waiver for India. A solid surge in Asian stocks also aided the strong upmove on the domestic bourses.
Capital goods, telecom shares rallied on fresh buying. The market breadth was strong. All the 30-members from the Sensex pack gained. Ranbaxy Laboratories rebounded in green.
Shares of potential beneficiaries of the India-US nuclear deal surged, with NTPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Larsen & Toubro surging over 5% each.
Asian markets surged today, 8 September 2008, after the US government on Sunday, 7 September 2008, took over mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit extensive damage of the financial crisis. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea were up by between 3.38% and 5.57%. However, China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.95%
At 12:25 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 580.80 points or 4.01% to 15,065.13. It opened 554.23 points higher at 15,034.06 and surged to strike an intra-day high of 15,107.01 in early trade. At the day’s high, the Sensex gained 623.18 points. At the day’s low of 14,989.64 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex rose 505.81 points.
The S&P CNX Nifty jumped 167.70 points or 3.82% to 4,519.50
The NSG’s acceptance of the US proposal to drop a ban on nuclear trade with India will now put the Indo-US nuclear deal on the fast track. The approval came after almost three days of meeting in Vienna, ending a three-decade-long ban on India buying materials related to nuclear energy. The NSG meet was called to minimise any damage to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which India has not joined.
However, the nuclear deal still needs to be ratified by the US Congress before it could take force. The Congress must act before adjourning in late September 2008 for US presidential elections. If that does not happen, the deal could be left to an uncertain fate under a new US administration that takes office next year.
The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1772 shares advancing as compared to 646 that declined. 83 remained unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.92% to 5,861.81 and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.63% to 7,017.44.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2034 crore by 12:30 IST as compared to Rs 1510 crore by 11:30 IST.
All the 30 Sensex stocks were in the green. Ranbaxy, India’s top drug maker by sales, recovered from day’s low of Rs 438.05 and was now up 1.05% to Rs 455. The Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo’s open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake at Rs 737 a share in the company ended on 4 September 2008.
India’s largest private sector power generation firm by sales, Reliance Infrastructure jumped 7.50% to Rs 1092 on 5.44 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack.
Capital goods heavyweights Larsen & Toubro (up 5.95% to Rs 2772), and Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 5.55% to Rs 1827.90), surged.
India’s largest private sector firm by market capitalization and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 3.55% to Rs 2153.30 on 3.90 lakh shares.
Telecom pivotals were in demand on renewed buying interest. India’s second largest cellular services provider in terms of market capitalisation Reliance Communications advanced 3.82% to Rs 409 after its subsidiary Reliance Big Entertainment reportedly acquired a majority stake in the US-based cricket webcasting portal, Willow TV, for an undisclosed amount.
India’s largest cellular services provider in terms of market capitalisation Bharti Airtel rose 1.54% to Rs 817.25
India’s second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies gained 2.06% to Rs 1748.60 and ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector ban by net profit jumped 6.57% to Rs 732.45
Aurobindo Pharma rose 0.95% to Rs 319.05 after the company said it has secured tentative approval from US Food & Drug Administration to manufacture and market Abacavir Sulphate/Lamivudine tablets. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 8 September 2008.
Pratibha Industries surged 3.11% to Rs 278.60 after the company said on Monday, 8 September 2008, it has secured a contract worth Rs 44.75 crore from Delhi Jal Board for water transmission program.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October 2008 rose $2.37 to $108.60 per barrel today, 8 September 2008 on worries hurricane Ike will threaten production facilities in the oil-rich US Gulf Coast.
US markets ended mixed on Friday, 5 September 2008 after financial shares rebounded on hopes that concrete measures would be taken to rescue mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones industrial average roe 32.73 points, or 0.29%, to 11,220.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 5.48 points, or 0.44%, to 1,242.31. However the Nasdaq composite index slid 3.16 points, or 0.14%, to 2,255.88.
Back home, intense selling in index pivotals ever since the opening bell led a sell-off on the bourses on Friday, 5 September 2008. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 415.27 points or 2.79% to 14,483.83 and the S&P CNX Nifty declined 95.45 points or 2.15%, to settle at 4352.30.

Bush Admn set for efforts to get nuclear deal approved

Washington, Sept 8 (PTI) Facing the final hurdle, the Bush Administration today geared up to get the 123 Agreement quickly approved by the American Congress to bring the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal to fruition, as a key critic raised questions on an expedited timetable.

After winning a Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG) waiver, the US is hoping for a bipartisan support for the Agreement with India getting the green signal from the nuclear cartel for resuming nuclear commerce after it approved the waiver.

In signs that the top echelons of the State department were investing their personal energy to see the 123 Agreement through , US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is herself leading the charge to open talks with Congress leaders at the earliest. The Congress, which opened today, will be in session till Sept.26. Rice has admitted that the Congressional calendar is short.

Though the Administration has voiced optimism over a Congress approval, potential problems loomed large with Senator Howard Berman, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a vocal critic of the deal, saying it should first convince the lawmakers on the need for special procedures to speed up the process.

The Congress is being asked by the Administration to do away with the mandatory 30-day period before it can take up the Agreement for a simple yes-no vote without a debate.

If the US administration wants to seek special procedure to quicken Congressional consideration of the accord, it should show how the NSG decision is consistent with the Hyde Act, including which technology can be sent to India and what impact a nuclear test by New Delhi would have, Berman said.

A senior U.S. Official working on the India legislation was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal: "We still have a lot of hurdles in front of us."

Manmohan, Bush may ratify N-deal during PM's US visit

New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will go to Washington later this month and meet President George W Bush when the two may ratify the Indo-US nuclear deal agreed to between them three years ago following the ringing endorsement received at the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Singh, who is to undertake a tour of the US and France, will travel to New York first for attending the United Nations General Assembly after which he will go to Washington on a day's visit.

Former Ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh feels by that time the US Congress could approve the 123 civil nuclear cooperation agreement entered into between Bush and Singh in July, 2005 and the two could sign it in the final ratification process of the deal.

If that is not possible by the time Singh visits Washington, the deal could be signed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice if by that time a "lame duck" session of the Congress approves it in December before the end of Bush's term in mid-January next year.

From the US, the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel to Marseilles in France for the annual Indo-EU summit and then to Paris for a meeting with French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

N-deal: The road ahead in US

From Vienna the action shifts back to Washington DC, where the Indo-US nuclear deal now awaits clearance from the US Congress.

The bilateral 123 agreement, which lays down the terms of nuclear trade between America and India, still has to face a yes or no vote.

Ashley Tellis, a key advisor to Bush government on the deal, says: "The next step is for the President to get the determinations required. I think there are seven determinations to be made. Bush has to make those determinations that India has completed a set of actions. Once those determinations are made which we can do really quickly assuming that India fulfills what is supposed to do the administration intends to send this to Congress at the earliest possible opportunity."

The earliest that can be is Monday, when Congress reconvenes after summer break for the last time before the presidential elections in November.

However, US law states there has to be a continuous 30-day session in Congress once a bill is introduced, in order for it to be put to a simple up-down vote.

The 30-day period can be waived but it requires the unanimous consent of all house members.

But well-known and influential opponents of the deal could come in the way.

In which case, it's more than likely that the deal will only be taken up in a lame duck session in the winter -- after the US elections, but before the new President, and Congress assume office.

While the NSG clearance means that India can now technically trade with any of its members without awaiting this vote, there is an unwritten understanding, that India will wait for the US Congress to ratify the 123.

Sharon Squassoni, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, adds: "If Congress did not pass the deal French and Russian and Japanese and other nuclear industries would be able to pursue contracts with India and US industries will not so there is a certain logic that Congress will feel that pressure and act accordingly."

But at this stage domestic politics will become a factor -- when much will depend on whether the Democrats want to give President George Bush a foreign policy success and a legacy that may mitigate the disasters of Iraq.

US-India nuclear deal called “foolish and risky”

WASHINGTON: The US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement approved by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Vienna is a “foolish and risky deal” that will make every country free to sell nuclear technology to India while “asking virtually nothing from India in return”, in the process undermining the very international system that India so ardently seeks to join, according to a critical assessment published here on Sunday.
Mira Kamdar, a fellow at Asia Society, New York, writes in the Washington Post that while India needs energy, “this foolish, risky deal is not the way to get any of these things. India’s democracy has already paid a crippling price, and now the planet may too”. The Indo-US nuclear co-operation agreement was approved by the NSG at its meeting in Vienna this weekend. However, it still has to find congressional approval, an exercise that it may not be possible to complete during the short time left to do that. The deal, Kamdar argues, risks triggering a new arms race in Asia. If it passes, a “miffed and unstable Pakistan will seek nuclear parity with India, and China will fume at a transparent US ploy to balance Beijing’s rise by building up India as a counterweight next door”. The pact will gut global efforts to contain the spread of nuclear materials and encourage other countries to flout the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that India is now being rewarded for failing to sign.
Kamdar believes that the deal will divert billions of dollars away from India’s real development needs in sustainable agriculture, education, health care, housing, sanitation and roads. It will also distract India from developing clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, and from reducing emissions from its many coal plants. Instead, the pact will focus the nation’s efforts on an energy source that will, under the rosiest of projections, contribute a mere 8 percent of India’s total energy needs — and that will not happened until 2030. The deal will generate billions of dollars in lucrative contracts for major US and Indian companies as well as help resuscitate the moribund US nuclear power industry. France and Russia, both of which support the deal, will reap huge profits in India. According to one estimate, the deal will generate more than $100 billion in business over the next 20 years, as well as a large number of jobs in India and the United States..
Kamdar writes that India will get unfettered access to nuclear fuel and technology without doing anything in return. It will not have to open all its reactors to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which means that both the new technologies India will now be able to acquire and the fuel it now has on hand can be ploughed into its nuclear weapons programme. “More ominously, the deal will tell other would-be nuclear powers — and nuclear rogues — that the old barriers to non-proliferation need not be taken seriously. They certainly have not been taken seriously by the US. Other, less high-minded powers will surely follow the shortsighted example being set by Delhi and Washington. Russia has emphatically signalled that it has had enough of global norms that it considers unfair and is keen to return to old-fashioned realpolitik. The prospect of meaningful steps toward disarmament by the existing nuclear powers is slim and dwindling.” The deal will not magically transform India into China’s economic or military equal. Even if India managed to match China reactor for reactor and missile for missile, it could do so only at the expense of precisely the investments in human and physical infrastructure that could make India into a truly great power, prosperous and secure. This is the real tragedy of the US-India nuclear deal, she concludes. .

Nuclear deal history

New Delhi (PTI): The Indo-US Nuclear Deal has remained a contentious affair from the word go. The July 18, 2005 Joint Statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush gave the world the first glimpse of a path-breaking deal that could end India's nuclear isolation.

Singh had hit it off well with the US leader and America was ready for the landmark deal that virtually gives de-facto nuclear weapons state status was the official line. But the Joint Statement itself saw Opposition parties as also the Left parties, then the outside supporters of the Congress-led coalition, raising serious doubts over the deal. In fact, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee fired the first salvo raising questions.

The Left parties, which have ideological problems over strategic ties with the US, were also quick to react and questioned the government's decision. The intent to lift the four-decade-old nuclear emabargo and agreeing for the separation of civil and military nuclear facilities in India, set off a flurry of activities both here and in the US to clinch a "landmark" deal for Bush and Singh.

The US had agreed to change its domestic laws which banned supply of any nuclear fuel and technology to India and herald in a "unique" cooperation with New Delhi "not to be replicated to other countries." As officials of the two countries met to take the deal forward, opposition BJP and the Left parties kept up pressure on the government while in the US the Bush administration faced the heat from the non-proliferationists, who were of the the opinion that the agreement would make the NPT regime redundant.

In March, 2006 the Prime Minister announced the Separation Plan for civilian and military atomic reactors, which along with the July 18 joint statement formed the basis of the India-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. Government's actions on the foreign policy front, particularly its stand on Iran in the international fora, came up for close scrutiny on the domestic front and when India voted with the US on the issue of clamping sanctions on Tehran.

The Opposition and the Left parties accused the government of surrendering its right to conduct independent foreign policy in order to clinch the deal. India's endorsement of a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) statement two years ago backing Iran's right to civil nuclear energy subject to its international obligations also drew criticism from the US. In the meantime on November 16, 2006 the US Congress passed the Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 which granted the US administration a waiver from Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act to resume nuclear commerce with India.

References to Iran, nuclear testing in the Hyde Act triggered off yet another political storm here with BJP mounting attack on the government for "surrendering" the right to conduct nuclear tests in the future. The Left parties attacked the government for getting closer to "capitalist" US.

The next significant step was the clinching of the 123 Agreement by the US and Indian officials on July 27, 2007. A few weeks later, on August 13 Prime Minister Singh defended the accord and his governement in Parliament saying the country retained the strategic autonomy and sovereign right to conduct a nuclear test.