New Delhi: India will make a strong pitch
for securing a full membership of elite Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) during next month's visit of Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao to the US which has already pledged its support
for New Delhi.
Rao intends to discuss with the US to take forward the
process of securing the full membership to NSG during her
visit in the middle of next month, officials said here today.
During his visit to India last November, US President
Barack Obama had committed support for India's full membership
in NSG and other multilateral export control regimes. The US
move finally opened a door for the country to transcend the
legal confines of a treaty that has defined global attitudes
towards nuclear weapons for over four decades--the NPT.
Terming the US step to remove ISRO and DRDO from the
entities list earlier this week as "important", the officials
said the US was looking at removing hurdles in high-tech
trade with the country as per its commitment.
Responding to a question about the civil nuclear
liability legislation and the concerns among foreign
companies, the officials said "we want to provide
level-playing field to all. We have national obligations. We
have international legal obligations and we would like to meet
all those obligations."
The officials also noted that the country has signed
the Convention on Supplementary Compensation at Vienna which
defines additional amounts to be provided through
contributions by States Parties in case of a nuclear accident.
They said the US companies are taking the lead on
having discussion on civil liability and are in touch with
NPCIL and DAE. "All the steps that flow from our legislation
are being looked into by DAE," the officials said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 28, 2011, 22:00