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Men behind waiver The ruling establishment is in a jubilation mood after the NSG waiver. This has come after a high-voltage diplomacy carried out by some of the key officials. These officials are: Shyam Saran: Considered the architect of the nuclear deal during his tenure as foreign secretary, Saran is currently the special envoy of the Prime Minister. In the last two months, he visited almost all the major world capitals to garner support from developed nations in favour of the deal. A 1970 IFS officer, Saran served as India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Indonesia and Myanmar and High Commissioner to Mauritius. An articulate diplomat, Saran is also credited with giving an impetus to the India-Pakistan composite dialogue process during his tenure as foreign secretary. Anil Kakodkar: Kakodkar is a famous Indian nuclear scientist, who was associated with the first successful peaceful nuclear experiment conducted by India on May 18, 1974, at Pokhran. He also played a key role in a series of five successful nuclear tests conducted by India during May 1998 again at Pokhran. At present, Kakodkar is the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India (AECI) and secretary to the Indian government, the Department of Atomic energy. Kakodkar was also the director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Trombay. He was the main Indian negotiator with IAEA Director-General Mohammed el-Baradei over the India-specific safeguards agreement, which the global nuclear watchdog approved on August 1. M.K. Narayanan: A tough-talking official, Narayanan enjoys confidence of the PM. In his capacity as National Security Adviser, he is also primary adviser to the Prime Minister, the Indian Cabinet and the NSC on internal and international security issues. Even as the Indian diplomatic team in Vienna was finding the going tough at the NSG meeting, it was always in touch with Narayanan, said to be the eyes and ears of Manmohan Singh. Shiv Shankar Menon: The suave foreign secretary was High Commissioner to Pakistan before his elevation to the post. He has also served in China and Israel as Ambassador. A masters in history from Delhi University, Menon, a 1972 batch IFS officer, also had a stint in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as an adviser. Foreign diplomacy is in the veins of Menon, who hails from Ottapalam in Palakkad district district of Kerala. K.P.S. Menon (senior), India’s first foreign secretary, is his grandfather and K.P.S. Menon (junior), former Indian Ambassador to China, is his uncle. His father P.N. Menon was also a career diplomat and served as the Ambassador of Yugoslavia in his last days. Ronen Sen: Sen has been India’s Ambassador to the US since August 2004. He did most of the groundwork in Washington burning the midnight oil with key US officials to finalise the civil nuclear cooperation understanding that was finally approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George Bush on July 18, 2005. Sen joined the IFS in July 1966. From May 1968 to July 1984, he served in Indian missions/ posts in Moscow, San Francisco and in Dhaka and in the ministry of external affairs, and had also been secretary to the Atomic Energy Commission of India. From July 1984 to December 1985, Sen was joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs. He was thereafter joint secretary to the Prime Minister from January 1986 to July 1991, responsible for foreign affairs, defence and science and technology. S. Jaishankar: Currently the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, Jaishankar was the joint secretary (Americas) in the external affairs ministry when the nuclear deal was being negotiated. A close confidant of Shyam Saran, who was then the foreign secretary, Jaishankar frequently travelled to Washington to conduct the tough negotiations with the Americans. — Ashok Tuteja |
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