New Delhi, March 7
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today declared that India will not allow intrusive international inspections in nuclear facilities of high national security importance. He made two announcements primarily aimed at keeping the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) out of international safeguards, the country’s nerve centre of strategic programme and research.
Dr Manmohan Singh announced that CIRUS (Canada, India, US research reactor) would be permanently shut down in 2010 and Apsara reactor would be shifted out of BARC. Both these strategic reactors, cynosure of international attention, are presently located in BARC complex.
In his suo motu statement in both Houses of Parliament on “Discussions on civil nuclear energy cooperation with the United States: implementation of India’s Separation Plan”, the Prime Minister said: “We have decided to take these steps rather than allow intrusive inspections in a nuclear facility of high national security importance. We are determined that such steps will not hinder ongoing Research and Development.”
The Prime Minister today tabled in Parliament India’s separation plan which identifies and separates civilian and military nuclear facilities and places civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
He also made a series of policy announcements. The separation plan will not adversely effect India’s strategic programme. There will be no capping of the country’s strategic programme. The separation plan ensures adequacy of fissile material and other inputs to meet the current and future requirements of the country’s strategic programme, based on the government’s assessment of the threat scenarios. No constraint has been placed on India’s right to construct new facilities for strategic purposes.
Dr Manmohan Singh said the integrity of India’s Nuclear Doctrine and the country’s ability to sustain a Minimum Credible Nuclear Deterrent was adequately protected. “Our nuclear policy will continue to be guided by the principles of restraint and responsibility.”
The following are the salient points of the Separation Plan:
- India is preparing a list of 14 nuclear reactors which will be offered for IAEA safeguards between 2006-14 in a phased manner. This would raise the total installed thermal power capacity in Megawatts under safeguards from 19% at present to 65% by 2014. There are 22 thermal power reactors in operation or currently under construction in the country.
- India will not accept safeguards on the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) and the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), both located at Kalpakkam. The Fast Breeder
Programme is at the R&D stage. This technology will take time to mature and reach an advanced stage of development.
- India has decided to place under safeguards all future civilian thermal power reactors and civilian breeder reactors. New Delhi retains the sole right to determine such reactors as civilian. This means that India will not be constrained in any way in building future nuclear facilities-- civilian or military.
- Reprocessing and enrichment capabilities and other facilities associated with the fuel cycle for the country’s strategic programme have been kept out of the Separation Plan.
The Prime Minister dwelt at length on a major concern of the Indian strategic and scientific establishment: how to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel for its nuclear reactors. He said to ensure reliability of fuel supplies —a major Indian concern in the wake of the US blocking fuel supplies for Tarapur in the seventies — New Delhi has received commitments from Washington for reliable supply of fuel to India for reactors that will be offered for safeguards. The United States has also reaffirmed its assurance to create the necessary conditions for India to have assured and full access to fuel for such reactors.
