By IANS,
New Delhi : National Security Advisor (NSA) M.K. Narayanan Thursday briefed the cabinet on the waiver India has won from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to enable the resumption of global nuclear commerce with this country after a three-decade hiatus.
“The National Security Advisor briefed the cabinet on the waiver India has secured from the NSG,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“Every detail (of the manner in which the waiver was obtained) was reported to the cabinet today,” the minister added.
This was the first meeting of the cabinet after the NSG granted the India-specific waiver Saturday.
With this document in place, in Washington, the White House has sent the text of the proposed India-US civil nuclear deal to Congress for final approval after three days of hectic wooing of the lawmakers.
In a statement late Wednesday, the White House said it was transmitting the text of the implementing 123 agreement and other relevant documents to Congress, which reconvened Monday after its August recess and is scheduled to adjourn Sep 26 ahead of the Nov 4 elections.
Along with the text of the agreement, Bush also sent a seven-part Presidential Determination which is required under the US enabling law, the Hyde Act, for Congress to take up the deal for consideration.
The ‘Hyde Amendment package’, as the paperwork is called, was sent to the Capitol Hill after three days of hectic efforts led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to push the US Congress to approve the deal quickly without insisting on a rule that requires a resting period of 30 days for the legislation.
The Bush administration had pulled out all stops to push the deal after it helped win India the NSG waiver.
India had crossed the first hurdle by reaching an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for an additional safeguards protocol for its civilian nuclear facilities.