India, US civil nuclear agreement draft released

India and the United States on Friday simultaneously unveiled the text of civil nuclear deal, 123 Agreement, which will allow India access to the American nuclear fuel and technology, including the international fuel market, for its growing energy needs.

New Delhi, Aug 3 : India and the United States on Friday simultaneously unveiled the text of civil nuclear deal, 123 Agreement, which will allow India access to the American nuclear fuel and technology, including the international fuel market, for its growing energy needs.

The deal will have no bearing on India's strategic and military programme.

It is clear from the draft that there is no legal binding clause on India to never conduct nuclear test again. Thus, India will not be violating any international treaty, if it does conduct a nuclear test, but the circumstances under which India conducts a nuclear test will be taken into account.

The draft agreement will be placed on the floor of the Parliament. It will also have to be cleared by the US Congress.

The National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, has briefed leaders of different political parties on the draft agreement. The effort is to reach a consensus in Parliament to facilitate nuclear cooperation between India and the United States in the long term.

The left parties have indicated that they will have another round of discussions on the civil nuclear deal with the Government.

In a manner this is the first international agreement, which would justify the circumstances in which a nuclear test is conducted.

The right to seek return of nuclear fuel and technology does not automatically come into effect. It is something the US administration can choose to invoke.

Even after the US chooses to take back the fuel, there are about seven to eight barriers before the right of return actually comes into play.

If it seeks the return of nuclear fuel and technology, the US will have to compensate India promptly for the "fair market value thereof" and the costs incurred as a consequence of such removal.

There are certain assurances to India, which have been repeated in the text, by US President George W Bush.

The US has agreed to ensure that there is a lifetime supply of fuel for India's nuclear reactors and that they will help India build its strategic fuel reserve.

The reserve will help to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of India's reactors.

Washington said it is committed to engage with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to help India to obtain full access to the international fuel market, including reliable, uninterrupted and continual access to fuel supplies from firms in several nations.

The US will join India in seeking to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to pursue an India-specific nuclear fuel supply agreement.

India will establish a new national facility dedicated to reprocessing safeguarded nuclear material under IAEA safeguards.

In case of disruption of fuel supplies, the US and India would jointly convene a group of friendly nations such as Russia, France and the United Kingdom to pursue measures to restore fuel supply.

The civil nuclear deal will remain in force for a 40-year period and can be extended by an additional 10 years.

The 20-page document of the text of the 123 Agreement is available on website of the Ministry of External Affairs.

ANI