Wednesday, April 20 2005 10:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Indian nuclear industry expects "harmonisation" of Nuclear Suppliers' Group's (NSG) guidelines with the objectives of Nuclear Safety Convention (NSC) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following willingness shown by US President George W Bush to work with India in civilian nuclear power programme and India's ratification of NSC.

"Indian nuclear industry expects harmonisation of Nuclear Suppliers' Group guidelines with the objectives of NSC of the IAEA so that increase in production of energy is not obtained at the expense of safety," said senior officials of Indian civilian nuclear industry.

India ratified NSC on March 31, 2005. The ratification of NSC makes it obligatory for countries to apply certain safety principles to construction, operation and regulation of land-based civilian nuclear power plants under their jurisdiction.

Currently, there is a distinct dichotomy between suppliers' guidelines and the objectives of NSC, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar told sources.

"The actions and interpretations of the NSG on the nuclear safety guidelines should be consistent with the objectives of the NSC," he said.

NSC's objectives clearly said the safety should be enhanced worldwide through international cooperation meaning the safety related equipment and technologies should be freely available in the market.

"There should be free trade in this regard, which is currently not practiced by the NSG," Kakodkar said.

Highest priority should be given to nuclear safety and not to political objectives regarding the use of nuclear energy, he stressed.

"Indian nuclear industry will insist on this and has already driven the point to the world community before ratifying the NSC on March 31," he said.

Ironically, every member country of NSG is in the NSC, "but how can one have two rules for carrying out an expanding civilian nuclear power programme in the world?" Kakodkar said.

"There is a huge market for nuclear power in India as we have large energy requirement," he said, adding, "It is up to the NSG to utilise the opportunity".

"If they do not make use of the opportunity, we are not the losers in any way as we will continue with our own indigenous programme," Kakodkar said.

The United States had proposed the formation of NSG following 1974 nuclear explosion by India. The primary purpose was to ensure that suppliers uniformly applied a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that nuclear cooperation did not contribute to proliferation and to involve a key non-proliferation treaty (NPT) supplier, France.

The NSG consists of 30 nuclear suppliers and seeks to control exports of nuclear materials, equipment, and technology, both dual-use and specially designed and prepared.