By IANS
New Delhi : Even as the future of the India-US civil nuclear deal appears uncertain, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday sought to drum up support for it at a conclave of overseas Indians, saying it will help achieve energy security for the country.
“The India-US civil nuclear energy cooperation is precisely intended to address our concerns on energy security,” Mukherjee said at the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual conclave of Indian diaspora, while underlining the importance of the energy sector for a booming economy.
“Today, more than ever, the need for ensuring energy security for a rapidly growing economy like ours is acute,” he said, while underlining the viability of nuclear energy compared to the prices of oil that have touched $100 a barrel.
“Today, a barrel of oil has touched $100 and this has sent shock waves across the world. For India, it means additional resource allocation of millions of dollars in our national plan,” Mukherjee said.
His defence of the nuclear deal, which aims to reopen doors of global civil nuclear commerce with India after three decades, comes amid continuing opposition to the deal by the government’s Communist allies.
India plans to hold the fourth round of talks on a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later this month. But even if it succeeds in finalising a draft pact, the Left will decide whether the government should go ahead with the nuclear deal.
It’s only after the Left’s approval that the India-US nuclear deal can move on to the next two steps – a change in guidelines by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the ratification of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement by the US Congress so as to make it operational.
Mukherkjee was the chief guest at a session on “Developmental Challenges of the States” at the conclave where chief ministers from some states including Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Sheila Dikshit (Delhi), Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Haryana) and Madhu Koda (Jharkhand) were present.
Mukherjee also underlined the need for inclusive growth and balancing “the rights and needs of the populace with the growing demands of industrialisation”.
“Sustainable economic growth is more than a buzzword. It is the reality on which our society has to be built,” he said.