India questions ratings by Nuclear Threat Initiative ahead of annual plenary session of Nuclear Supplier’s Group

NEW DELHI: Ahead of annual plenary session of the Nuclear Supplier’s Group (NSG) which is expected to discuss the case of India’s membership to the coveted global body, Delhi has questioned the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) for rating the security arrangements at the country’s nuclear installations as poor and below mark and claimed that India adopts one the best practices being followed in many advanced countries.

NTI, a Washington-based nonprofit body to strengthen global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, makes the assessment of the security mechanisms in countries having at least one kg of enriched uranium and publishes its assessment annually.

It has been rating the security implementations at the Indian nuclear installations as "poor and not up to the mark". The NTI places India among the nations having poor practices with regard to nuclear security implementations, government sources told ET. However, the Modi government carried out a recent study that claims that India adopts one the best practices being followed in many advanced countries.