By IANS
New Delhi : Anil Kakodkar, heading India’s nuclear establishment, has said that the next steps on operationalising the India-US nuclear deal should be taken at the earliest after the “informal discussion” on the agreement he had with the UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna.
“I have not come here specifically for discussing the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, although there is general activity on this and a lot of curiosity, so some informal discussion does take place,” Kakodkar told NDTV in Vienna, where he was participating in the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said he did not have formal discussions with the IAEA on a safeguards agreement with India, which is the critical next step.
Asked when the formal talks on the India-specific safeguards with the IAEA are expected, he said: “We hope it can happen soon. We have had informal discussions earlier both in Delhi and Vienna and we have a clear idea about the approach one needs to follow.”
Kakodkar admitted that convincing the 45 member nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for civil nuclear cooperation would be tough.
But he added: “We have been trying to convey to them the importance of India getting into civil nuclear commerce because we feel it’s also in the larger global interest.”
The country’s top nuclear scientist’s views are in contrast to those of the Left parties that have delivered an ultimatum to the government against operationalising the nuclear deal and have insisted on a six-month “pause”, which in effect could kill the deal or delay it indefinitely.