New Delhi: Asserting that India is a responsible nuclear power acting with due restraint, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Oct 7, 2004) said, "circumstances" were not ripe for the country to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) now.

"I don't know whether the circumstances are ripe right now for us to sign that (NPT). But we are voluntarily fulfilling all the commitments that go with being a responsible nuclear power acting with due restraint," Singh said at a joint press interaction with visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The Prime Minister, who held wide-ranging discussions with Schroeder, was asked about the prospects of India signing the NPT.

"We are a nuclear power. We are a responsible nuclear power. We act with restraint. We have 'no first use' doctrine in place. We have an impeccable record of export control so that any unauthorised use of sensitive nuclear materials can be effectively prevented," he said.

Observing that India was itself "victim" of the gaps that exist in the present non-proliferation arrangements, he said, "I don't want to talk about it. We have seen for example the clandestine export of nuclear materials in our region".

India, he said, was interested in working with like-minded countries to strengthen the non-proliferation system.