New Delhi, March 31
India has decided to ratify the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Ministry of External Affairs announced today. The instrument of ratification was submitted today to the Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency, who is the Depository of the convention.
The Convention on Nuclear Safety was adopted in Vienna on June 17, 1994. It entered into force on October 24, 1996. The convention establishes a legal obligation on the part of the states parties to adopt certain safety principles for constructing, operating and regulating land-based civilian nuclear power plants under their jurisdiction. It provides for obligatory reporting and review procedures, while recognising the basic principle that safety of nuclear installations remains a national responsibility.
The Ministry issued a statement which said: “Fully conscious of the responsibilities arising from the possession of advanced and comprehensive capabilities in the entire gamut of nuclear fuel cycle operations, India attaches great importance to the issue of nuclear safety. It shares the objective of the convention for maintaining a high-level of nuclear safety worldwide through the enhancement of national measures and international cooperation, including in safety-related technical cooperation.
India has over the past five decades established a multi-layered regulatory infrastructure, underpinned by a substantive corpus of long-standing legislation, for ensuring the safety of nuclear installations. India is implementing measures based on general safety principles to meet the objectives of the convention.”
