Nuke deal: FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION
8 nuclear reactors to come up across country: BARC
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Kanpur: In order to meet ever-increasing power demands and to make the country self-reliant in the field of nuclear power, work is underway to construct eight nuclear power plants across the country. Eight nuclear power reactors, each having capacity to produce 700 megawatt of electricity, are being set up across the country in order to make the nation self-dependent in producing nuclear energy, director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Shrikumar Banerjee said at the Indian Institute of Technology here on Saturday night.
"For this, there is a requirement of around 80,000 tonnes of uranium to run those reactors for 60 years," he said adding, the country has enough resources of uranium and recently it has been found in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalya also.
Banerjee also said the country is looking at the target of generating 15 to 20 per cent electricity through nuclear energy, which presently is three per cent, by the next 15 years.
The scientists are also working on to prepare new design of the reactors so as to increase their life from 40 to 60 years, he added.
In India, only nuclear reactor at Tarapore in Maharashtra has the capacity to produce 540 mega watt of nuclear energy.
NDTV.com
BJP dares Left to retract support
NDTV.com - 59 minutes ago
The BJP today dared the Left to ''show courage'' and withdraw support to the government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal issue as it ridiculed the CPI(M)'s fresh ultimatum to the UPA on the matter.

End talks with IAEA by month-end, CPI(M) tells govt
New Delhi: Issuing a fresh threat to the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI(M) has told the government to end talks with the IAEA by this month or be prepared for mid-term polls to the Lok Sabha.
"When they (officials) come back from talks with the IAEA, we will tell them (government) there is no need to go ahead (with the deal). The issue must be resolved by the end of December. If they still go ahead, then we will have to be prepared for Lok Sabha mid-term polls," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told the Delhi state CPI(M) meeting on Saturday.
In perhaps the clearest threat with a definite deadline, Karat made his remarks even as a team of Indian officials left for Vienna to resume their second round of talks with the IAEA for India-specific safeguards from Monday.
The first round of talks was held after the Left parties allowed the government to carry on negotiations with the IAEA on the condition that no agreement would be signed but would be brought back to the UPA-Left committee to go through.
Karat said the Left parties did not want the government to fall before Gujarat assembly elections lest the BJP benefited from it. "You may not be worried but we are. We don't want the BJP to win the polls. We have to defeat the Modi government. So, we don't want to disturb the situation now," he said.
The Left parties have been warning the government not to go ahead with the deal but the prime minister has expressed hopes that the opponents of the nuclear deal could be persuaded to accept it.
After the debate on the nuclear deal in the recently ended Parliament session, the opposition BJP, the Left parties and the SP had asked the government not to go ahead with the deal.
Nuke deal: CPI says findings of UPA-Left panel will prevail
New Delhi: As the CPI(M) set a fresh deadline for the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI today said the findings of the UPA-Left committee on the matter will prevail.
CPI National Secretary D Raja said the government had agreed to get back to the committee on its talks on the safeguard agreement with the IAEA and not to finalise any decision on the issue.
"The formal understanding is that they (government) will get back to the UPA-Left committee. The findings of the committee will prevail," Raja told PTI when asked about the ultimatum given by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.
Addressing a meeting of the Delhi CPI(M) unit yesterday, Karat threatened mid-term polls to the Lok Sabha if the government went ahead with the IAEA talks beyond December.

FOR YOUR URGENT ATTENTION

A note from Hari Sharma
on behalf of SANSAD

Dear friends:

I have been a member of the "US-India Deal Working Group", which is a part of Abolition 2000, a worldwide Coalition of people and organizations working for a Nuclear-free world.

We have been actively working for over a year (in fact ever since the Bush-Manmohan Singh deal was signed) to stop this deal to go through. For the group as a whole the overt concern is the technicalities of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (which the deal compromises immensely), and the fact that the deal if went through gives India a way to continue building its nuclear arsenal (and thus significantly compromising the quest for a Nuclear-free world, and would also contribute to an acceleration of Nuclear arms race in South Asia). For me, the deal has the added implication of India becoming a junior partner in imperialist strategic designs: military, as well as economic (as I had argued at length in a paper I did in 2006; a copy of which I could send if requested).

You might also be aware that the Deal cannot go through until it has a unanimous approval of the Board of Governors of UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and also a unanimous approval of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group.

We as a Group have written formal letters to the Heads of State of all the member countries of IAEA and NSG, and have been actively involved in lobbying at various levels.

Now the Urgency.

Soon, the matter is going to be taken up by the IAEA body in Vienna. The Government of India, and the USA are putting all the pressures to get it through there. And soon after, it would go to the NSG.

"US-India Deal Working Group" has been intensifying its lobbying efforts, as well as NOW trying to mobilie support from people's organizations all over the world.

So far I have been co-signing the campaign letters in my personal capacity.

Now, since the campaign asks for organizations to co-sign the letters, I request if the organization you might belong to would become a signatory to the letters that would go to the governments represented in both IAEA and NSG. SANSAD as an organization has decided to be a so-signer of the Campaign letter..

Kindly read on. There is first an appeal letter to people's organizations; followed by the actual letter that would go to the governments, hopefully with many more organizations' name on it.

KINDLY TREAT IT AS URGENT; AND GET BACK TO ME IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. You could also send your endorsement directly by writing before December 20 to:
whitecynic@yahoo. com

If you send it directly, kindy oblige by sending me a copy.

Waiting for your response.

hari sharma

US-India nuclear deal

Call for organizational sign-ons to letter to NSG governments and governments represented on the IAEA Board of Directors

Crunch time is approaching for the US-India nuclear deal. Recognizing that they only have a small window of opportunity to finalize the deal before the US Presidential election gets in the way, the governments of both countries are mounting a last ditch effort to clinch a safeguards agreement with the IAEA and gain a special India-specific exemption from the guidelines of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The IAEA safeguards agreement and the NSG exemption are required before the US Congress can approve the bi-lateral agreement.

We have launched this international sign-on letter, because we are gravely concerned about the implications of the US-India nuclear deal for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Reports suggest that the deal could be pushed through the IAEA and NSG as early as January 2008, so we are aiming to collect as many organizational sign-ons as possible by 20 December and to send the letter to governments at the beginning of January 2008.

The letter is written in a way that presents some basic facts about why the deal is problematic, raises key issues for the recipient governments to consider, and makes a number of recommendations about what should/should not be done. It attempts to stake out the "maximalist" position while also trying to address the specific legal and policy questions that might resonate with the broadest range of NSG governments.

We urge you to endorse the letter below and to encourage other NGOs to do likewise. Please send your endorsement to the following email address by Tuesday 20 December 2007:

whitecynic@yahoo. com

For more information about the US-India deal, please refer to the following web sites:

http://www.armscont rol.org/projects /india/

http://cnic. jp/english/ topics/plutonium /proliferation/ usindia.html

Signed:

Daryl Kimball,
Executive Director, Arms Control Association, USA

Stephen Staples,
Global Secretariat, Abolition 2000
(Director, Rideau Institute on International Affairs, Canada)

Philip White,
Coordinator, Abolition 2000 US-India Deal Working Group
(International Liaison Officer, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Japan)

------------ -
Fix the Proposal for Renewed Cooperation with India

December 31, 2007

Dear Foreign Minister

In the coming weeks the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors will likely be asked to consider a new "India-specific" safeguards agreement that would cover a limited number of additional "civilian" reactors. Shortly thereafter, the members of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will be asked to take a position on the Bush administration' s proposal to exempt India from longstanding NSG guidelines that require full-scope IAEA safeguards as a condition of supply.

Contrary to the claims of its advocates, the proposed arrangement fails to bring India further into conformity with the nonproliferation behavior expected of other states. India's commitments under the current terms of the proposed arrangement do not justify making far-reaching exceptions to international nonproliferation rules and norms. Consequently, the proposed arrangement would damage the already fragile nuclear nonproliferation system and set back efforts to achieve universal nuclear disarmament.

We are writing to urge your government to consider the full implications of the proposed agreement and to play an active role in proposing and supporting measures that would help ensure that this controversial proposal does not:

* further undermine the nuclear safeguards system and efforts to prevent the proliferation of technologies that may be used to produce nuclear bomb material;
* in any way contribute to nuclear proliferation and/or the expansion of India's nuclear arsenal; or
* otherwise grant India the benefits of civil nuclear trade without holding it to the same standards expected of other states parties of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Because the NSG and IAEA traditionally operate by consensus, your government has a pivotal role to play. Please consider the following:

1) India is seeking unprecedented "India-specific" safeguards over the additional facilities it has declared "civilian". Such safeguards could allow India to cease IAEA scrutiny if fuel supplies are cut off because it renews nuclear testing. Indian officials suggest that they will seek safeguards that are contingent upon the continued supply of nuclear fuel from foreign suppliers. India may also assert that it has the option to remove certain "indigenous" reactors from safeguards if foreign fuel supplies are interrupted, even if that is because it has resumed nuclear testing. Such proposals should be rejected whether they might be included in the actual safeguards agreement or accompanying statements.
As part of the final document of the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, all NPT states parties endorsed the principle of full-scope safeguards as a condition of supply. A decision by the 45-nation NSG to exempt India from this requirement for India would contradict this important element of the NPT bargain.
We urge your government to actively oppose any arrangement that would give India any special safeguards exemptions or which would in any way be inconsistent with the principle of permanent safeguards over all nuclear materials and facilities.

2) India pledged in July 2005 to conclude an Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreement. Given that India maintains a nuclear weapons program outside of safeguards, facility-specific safeguards on a few additional "civilian" reactors provide no serious nonproliferation benefits. States should insist that India conclude a meaningful Additional Protocol safeguards regime before the IAEA Board of Governors considers a new draft safeguards agreement and certainly before the NSG takes a decision on exempting India from its rules.

3) The United States has put forward a draft NSG guideline that would allow NSG states to continue providing India with nuclear supplies even if New Delhi breaks its nuclear test moratorium pledge. Indian officials say they want changes to NSG guidelines that do not impinge upon their ability to resume nuclear testing. The U.S. proposal on India at the NSG would, in the case of a resumption of nuclear testing by India, make the suspension of nuclear trade optional for NSG members. Such an approach would undercut the international norm against nuclear testing and make a mockery of NSG guidelines. If the NSG members agree by consensus to exempt India from the full-scope safeguards standard, they should in the very least clarify that all nuclear trade by NSG member states shall immediately cease if India resumes nuclear testing for any reason.

4) India seeking exemptions from NSG guidelines and IAEA supply guarantees that would allow supplier states to provide India with a strategic fuel reserve that could be used to outlast any fuel supply cut off or sanctions that may be imposed if it resumes nuclear testing. The U.S.-India bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement includes political commitments to support an Indian strategic fuel reserve and an "India-specific" fuel supply arrangement. If NSG supplier states should agree to supply fuel to India, they should do so in a manner that is commensurate with ordinary reactor operating requirements.

5) India is seeking and the United States has proposed an NSG guideline that would open the way for other nuclear suppliers to transfer sensitive plutonium reprocessing, uranium enrichment, or heavy water production technology to India even though IAEA safeguards cannot prevent such technology from being replicated and used in its weapons program. India detonated a nuclear device in 1974 that used plutonium harvested from a heavy water reactor supplied by Canada and the United States in violation of bilateral peaceful nuclear use agreements. U.S. officials have stated that they do not intend to sell such technology. But other states, including France, may. Virtually all NSG states support proposals that would bar transfers of these sensitive nuclear technologies to non-NPT members and should under no circumstances endorse an NSG rule that would allow the transfer of such technology to India.

6) Absent a decision by New Delhi to halt the production of fissile material for weapons purposes, foreign fuel supplies would allow India not only to continue but also to potentially accelerate the buildup of its stockpile of nuclear weapons materials. This would not only contradict the goal of Article I of the NPT but also violate that article and it would foster further nuclear competition between India and Pakistan. Has your government conducted an independent assessment of the impact of foreign fuel supplies on India's weapons production capacity and the security balance in South Asia?

7) UN Security Council Resolution 1172 calls on India and Pakistan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and stop producing fissile material for weapons. Your government is bound by the UN Charter to support the implementation of this resolution. Before India is granted a waiver from the NSG's full-scope safeguards standard, it should join the other original nuclear weapon states by declaring it has stopped fissile material production for weapons purposes and, like the 177 other states that have signed the CTBT, make a legally-binding commitment to permanently end nuclear testing. India's verbal commitment to support negotiations of a global verifiable fissile material cut off treaty is a hollow gesture given the fact that states have failed to initiate negotiations on such a treaty for over a decade.

Conclusion
If your government is truly dedicated to the goal of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, ending nuclear arms races, and strengthening rules governing the transfer of nuclear material and technology, it will insist upon these and other vital nonproliferation measures. We look forward to your responses to our questions and recommendations.

Sincerely, (partial list, as of Dec. 5)

Daryl G. Kimball,
Executive Director,
Arms Control Association (Washington, DC, USA)

Steven Staples
Director
Rideau Institute on International Affairs (Canada)

Hideyuki Ban
Co-Director
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (Tokyo, Japan)

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

Kate Hudson
Chairperson
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament UK

Shingo Fukuyama,
Secretary General,
Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (GENSUIKIN) (Japan)

Akira Kawasaki
Executive Committee
Peace Boat Japan

Park Jung-eun
Chief Coordinator
Center for Peace and Disarmament
People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (South Korea)

David Heller
Coordinator
Friends of the Earth, Flanders & Brussels (Belgium)

Cam Walker
National Liaison Officer
Friends of the Earth, Australia

Terri Lodge
Coordinator
Arms Control Advocacy Collaborative (USA)

Jon Rainwater
Executive Director
Peace Action West
Berkeley, California, USA

Jenny Maxwell
Chair
West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK

Contact Addresses:
1. Abolition 2000 US-India Deal Working Group
c/o Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Akebonobashi Co-op 2F-B, 8-5 Sumiyoshi-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0065, Japan
Tel: 03-3357-3800 Fax: 03-3357-3801
http://cnic. jp/english/ topics/plutonium /proliferation/ usindia.html

2. Arms Control Association
1313 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
http://www.armscont rol.org
aca@armscontrol. org

End talks with IAEA by month-end, CPI(M) tells govt
New Delhi: Issuing a fresh threat to the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the CPI(M) has told the government to end talks with the IAEA by this month or be prepared for mid-term polls to the Lok Sabha.
"When they (officials) come back from talks with the IAEA, we will tell them (government) there is no need to go ahead (with the deal). The issue must be resolved by the end of December. If they still go ahead, then we will have to be prepared for Lok Sabha mid-term polls," CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told the Delhi state CPI(M) meeting on Saturday.
In perhaps the clearest threat with a definite deadline, Karat made his remarks even as a team of Indian officials left for Vienna to resume their second round of talks with the IAEA for India-specific safeguards from Monday.
The first round of talks was held after the Left parties allowed the government to carry on negotiations with the IAEA on the condition that no agreement would be signed but would be brought back to the UPA-Left committee to go through.
Karat said the Left parties did not want the government to fall before Gujarat assembly elections lest the BJP benefited from it. "You may not be worried but we are. We don't want the BJP to win the polls. We have to defeat the Modi government. So, we don't want to disturb the situation now," he said.
The Left parties have been warning the government not to go ahead with the deal but the prime minister has expressed hopes that the opponents of the nuclear deal could be persuaded to accept it.
After the debate on the nuclear deal in the recently ended Parliament session, the opposition BJP, the Left parties and the SP had asked the government not to go ahead with the deal.
N-deal: House panel for no hindrance to indigenous prog
New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to ensure that there is no obstruction to the indigenous nuclear programme under the civilian nuclear deal with the United States. "It should be ensured that there is no obstruction to the indigenous nuclear programme," a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology told the government in its report on the Department of Atomic Energy.
The committee has also asked the department that national interest should be kept in mind as negotiators work out the modalities regarding the nuclear deal.
Officials have already negotiated the text of an agreement with the US and this is being further discussed within the government, the committee was told.
Discussions are being held with friendly countries such as France and Russia to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy and to open-up international trade in civil nuclear energy with India.
India has also inked documents with France and Russia for cooperation in nuclear energy and to step up atomic power plants respectively."The purpose of all these instruments is to ensure that there is a significant addition in nuclear energy generating capacity in the country," government told the 41-member committee.
It also sought to assure the panel that while negotiating various instruments, it has been ensured that India will be able to carry on with the indigenous programme as per its national interests without any hindrance.