New Delhi: Declaring that both short and medium-range nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missiles were ready for deployment, Defence Minister George Fernandes on October 5 said the country's nuclear command chain, including alternative "nerve centres", was in place, giving India an effective retaliatory capability.

"We have established more than one (nuclear control) nerve centre," he said in an interview in which he disclosed that other nuclear command and control structures like nuclear command shelters and VVIP shelters have also been established.

To a question whether action has been taken to safeguard the country's nerve centres like North Block, South Block and Parliament, Fernandes said, "all necessary steps to provide these vital places protection", have been taken.

On the possibility of the use of Delhi Metro underground tunnelling as nuclear shelter, he merely said, "some countries have modified underground railway network to turn into shelters".

Elaborating on the process of deployment of 700 km-range Agni-I and 1500 to 2000 km-range Agni-II missiles, Fernandes said, "These have been handed over to the Army for deployment". He said the production of longer-range variant of the missile -- Agni-III --was under production and its exact timing for its test firing were being finalised.

In the interview, the Defence Minister said that Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) set up would be in place within a "few months" and that pace of modernisation of Armed Forces had been accelerated.

Expanding on the Nuclear Command Authority, Fernandes said that any nuclear power has to take care of issues like having a credible second-strike capability and setting up of nuclear command and nerve centres.

"India as a declared nuclear weapon state has been on this job from Day One" (after 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests), the Defence Minister said, adding that this just did not entail nuclear nerve centres, but also dealt with educating people about nuclear dangers, making hospitals ready for nuclear emergencies and other connected issues.

Though Agni-I and Agni-II along with surface-to-surface Prithvi missiles have been handed to the Army, Fernandes said the newly raised Strategic Forces Command has its responsibilities and would fulfil them.

Asked if possession of nuclear weapons had emboldened Pakistan to indulge in adventurism, the Minister said a number of countries possessed nuclear weapons and everyone looked at deterrent and not as something they should use.

In this connection, he said most of the nuclear doctrines took no first strike position. On the CDS system, which has been hanging fire for considerable time, Fernandes said the appointment of CDS was being discussed. "I am looking forward to putting it in place within a few months," he said.

PTI