India plans N-centre to drive R&D , aims to rope in IAEA

India aims to become international with participation from IAEA.

By Indrani Bagchi, TNN | Apr 14, 2010, 10.59 AM IST

WASHINGTON: India will set up a state-of-the-art nuclear energy partnership centre to develop proliferation-resistant research and development in nuclear studies.

The centre, which will be a national facility initially, aims to become international with participation from the IAEA and other countries . This was announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his speech at the nuclear security summit here.

While highlighting India’s credentials in achieving security of nuclear materials, the PM did not lose an opportunity to regret the ineffectiveness of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, read NPT. India has maintained that the NPT is a flawed and discriminatory structure and has been a failure at preventing what it set out to do.
“It is a matter of deep regret that the global non-proliferation regime has failed to prevent nuclear proliferation. Clandestine proliferation networks have flourished and led to insecurity for all, including and especially for India. Global non-proliferation , to be successful , should be universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory and linked to the goal of complete nuclear disarmament ,” the PM said.

India has traditionally approached nuclear issues with a mixture of pious virtue and a complaint against the world for not recognising its achievements—that complaining tone was refreshingly absent.

Singh placed India’s achievements in the nuclear sector as a badge of honour, highlighting its role in promoting nuclear security. Indirectly, he was also drawing attention to Pakistan’s nuclear status, even though Pakistan was not mentioned by name. “The primary responsibility for ensuring nuclear security rests at the national level, but national responsibility must be accompanied by responsible behaviour by states,” Singh said. No prizes for guessing which state has historically relinquished “responsibility ” for proliferation.

In his intervention, the PM pressed all the right buttons. He batted for Rajiv Gandhi and nuclear disarmament, nuclear power and India’s energy security , highlighted the various ways India has diversified the use of nuclear materials—in agriculture , medicine, water, etc—in a way reminding the world that nuclear is good when in the hands of countries like India.

He also used the forum to stress the twin dangers of terrorism and proliferation, leaving nobody in any doubt about who they were intended against. On nuclear security, while commending US President Barack Obama’s nuclear posture review and the declaration of no-first use, the PM did not venture into areas like CTBT which is facing an uphill battle among Republicans in the US Congress.

The nuclear energy centre put on the table by India, Singh said, would have “four schools dealing with Advanced Nuclear Energy System Studies, Nuclear Security, Radiation Safety , and the application of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technology in the areas of healthcare , agriculture and food” . “The centre will conduct research and development of design systems that are intrinsically safe, secure, proliferation-resistant and sustainable,” he added.

Officials said India would start talks with IAEA to link it with the nuclear watchdog’s own research facilities, which need to be upgraded as well.

Obama welcomed the Indian offer for the global centre on nuclear energy partnership, saying “this will be one more tool to establish best practices” in the quest for nuclear safety. The Department of Atomic Energy , (DAE), which will head the agency, distributed a four-page flyer on the agency’s mission.

Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.