All About India- Us Nuclear Deal- Compilation By Kamlesh Maheshwari

************************************** All about India-US nuclear deal

The Senate debate - Who said what Washington, Oct 2 : The historic 86-13 Senate endorsement of the India-US civil nuclear deal came after a two-and-a-half hour debate in which only seven speakers took part. This is how the debate went:Supporters:Christopher Dodd (Democrat): This agreement with India is as important as it is historic. It enables the United States and India to chart a new course in relations between our two great democracies. There are compelling geopolitical reasons to move forward in this relationship. India has become a major actor in the world, and it increasingly sees itself in concert with other global powers, rather than in opposition to them. Richard Lugar (Republican): This is one of the most important strategic diplomatic initiatives undertaken in the last decade. By concluding this pact, the US has embraced a long-term outlook that will give us new diplomatic options and improve global stability. It is an opportunity to build a strategic partnership with a nation that shares our democratic values and will exert increasing influence on the world stage. John Warner and Kit Bond (both Republican) simply endorsed the deal.

Opponents:Byrion Dorgan (Democrat): It’s a gravely flawed agreement that will almost certainly expand the production of nuclear weapons by India and help dismantle the architecture of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Never has something of such moment and such significance and so much importance been debated in such a short period of time and given such short shrift.

Jeff Bingaman (Democrat): The US has deep and very important ties with India, a great leader in technology that needs to be our ally on a number of issues. Many in our high technology community were originally born in India. But we draw the line on nonproliferation issues given its serious consequences. The agreement would make India a de facto nuclear weapons power without the responsibilities of an NPT signatory. India gets to eat its cake and eat it too. Tom Harkin (Democrat): This is not a non-proliferation enhancement act. It is a nonproliferation degradation and weakening act. There is nothing in this agreement to prevent India from continuing, on a parallel path, its robust nuclear weapons programme. India is allowed to continue producing bomb-making material and is free to expand its arsenal of nuclear weapons. Even worse, there is nothing in this legislation to prevent India from resuming nuclear weapons testing.

Fianl Lap : WASHINGTON: The US Congress late here on Wednesday approved a landmark deal ending a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with India, handing a victory to President George W. Bush on one of his top foreign policy priorities. Final approval came as the Senate voted to ratify the deal, 86-13, sending the legislation to Bush to sign into law. The Senate's move came just ahead of an expected trip to India this weekend by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Bush administration says the pact will secure a strategic partnership with the world's largest democracy, help India meet its rising energy demand and open up a market worth billions. But critics say the deal does grave damage to global efforts to contain the spread of nuclear weapons, by letting India import nuclear fuel and technology even though it has tested nuclear weapons and never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). India has a yawning energy deficit, and the accord opens up this market worth billions to American companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp. Rice spent much of the past month in an all-out effort to persuade Congress to approve the pact, which the Bush administration says will transform the USIndia relationship. Bush wanted the deal approved before leaving office in January; Congress is expected to adjourn soon for elections. The accord enjoys bipartisan support in Congress, where many lawmakers favored it as a way to create jobs in the US civil nuclear industry while cultivating the small but affluent Indian-American community. Critics said the deal was deeply unwise, overturning decades of US policy of refusing to sell nuclear technology to nations lacking full safeguards against that technology's diversion into nuclear weapons programs.

'Why are we rushing to pass this gravely flawed agreement?' demanded Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, before the vote. There was nothing in it, he said, to prevent India from resuming nuclear testing. India, which first detonated a nuclear device in 1974, last tested in 1998. The deal would also weaken US efforts to deny Iran a nuclear weapon, Harkin said. He said Indian entities already had sold sensitive missile technologies to Iran, which the Bush administration suspects is pursuing a nuclear bomb. But supporters said they expected India to move quickly to negotiate a new safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. 'The benefits of this pact are designed to be a lasting incentive for India to abstain from further nuclear weapons tests and to cooperate closely with the United States in stopping proliferation,' Indiana Republican Sen Richard Lugar said. Before approving the pact, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, both Democrats, making clear that another Indian nuclear test would lead to termination of the deal. Lugar argued the amendment was unnecessary, saying India had been warned repeatedly that the consequences of another test would be 'dire': US nuclear trade would be cut off. The deal could open up around 27 billion dollars in investments in 18-20 nuclear plants in India over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. But there is global competition. France announced on Tuesday that it had signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with India, and Russia is already building two 1,000 megawatt reactors in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Local media say India's monopoly Nuclear Power Corp has tentatively picked four suppliers, including Westinghouse Electric and France's Areva, for planned new projects. India is also reported to be negotiating with General Electric, Japan's Hitachi Ltd and Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom. *********************************************************************

Bush hails Washington, Oct 02: US President George W Bush on Thursday hailed the approval of the Indo-US nuclear deal by the Congress, saying it will strengthen global nuclear non- proliferation efforts and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in a responsible manner. 'This legislation will strengthen our global nuclear non-proliferation efforts, protect the environment, create jobs, and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in a responsible manner,' Bush said in a statement soon after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the Bill.

The President said he is looking forward to signing the Bill, considered as a major foreign policy initiative of his Administration, into law and continuing to strengthen the US-India Strategic Partnership. 'I congratulate the Senate on passing the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act, H R 7081,' he said. 'In particular, I commend the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for their leadership in crafting this important bipartisan legislation,' he said. The President also thanked Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader McConnell for bringing this bill to a vote prior to the Senate's adjournment. *********************************************************************

$150 bn ‘opportunity’ Washington, Oct 2 : The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has hailed Congressional approval of the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying the “historic vote” would open a “wide vista of opportunity” worth more than $150 billion.”The benefits will be many and the impact profound, beckoning a new era in US-India relations,” said Ron Somers, president of the industry association comprised of 300 of America’s top US companies committed to a long-term partnership with India. “By enabling US-India civil nuclear cooperation, India not only joins the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream, but now has the opportunity to achieve energy security, while protecting the global environment,” he said. “A massive scope for commercial opportunity between US and Indian companies will also be the result, valued at more than $150 billion over the next 30 years, spurring a revival of the nuclear power industries of both countries that will create as many as a quarter million high-tech US jobs for generations to come,” Somers said. “Passage of today’s legislation clears the way for US companies to participate in India’s civil nuclear opportunity,” Somers, said. “This sets US-India relations on a course that will shape the democratic and economic destiny of the 21st Century.” USIBC hailed the “historic vote ending 34 years of a ‘technology denial regime’ imposed against India, opening a wide vista of opportunity for US-India collaboration in commerce, civil nuclear research, technology transfer and nuclear fuel supply - essential inputs to power India’s dynamic, fast-growing economy.” On the operational level, the Congressional ratification of the implementing 123 Agreement sets the parameters for US Industry participation in India’s civil nuclear build-out, but on a symbolic level represents a historic breakthrough, it said

It would shore up “a durable foundation upon which US-India relations will flourish and America’s partnership will deepen with the world’s largest free-market democracy,” the business advocacy organisation said. *********************************************************************

CHRONOLOGY - Twists and turns The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a landmark deal ending the three-decade ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India, handing a victory to President George W. Bush on one of his top foreign policy priorities. Here is a timeline of some key developments over the past three years: * July 2005: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush agree in principle to a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal. It reverses 30 years of U.S. policy opposing nuclear cooperation with India because it developed nuclear weapons and never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. * March 2006: Bush pays a three-day visit to India during which the two countries agree on India's plan to separate its civil and military nuclear reactors, a key requirement for the deal to go through. * Dec. 2006: U.S. Congress overwhelmingly approves the deal. Three other approvals -from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a second time by Congress -- are still needed before nuclear transfers to India can actually take place. * Dec. 2006: Bush signs the law approved by Congress, which makes changes to the U.S. Atomic Energy Act. Analysts say the pact could be fully approved in roughly six months. * July 2007: The two countries announce finalisation of the deal after months of tough negotiations on a bilateral pact. India had objected to what it said were new conditions in the agreement unacceptable to it. * Aug. 2007: Text of the bilateral pact, called the 123 agreement, is unveiled simultaneously in both countries. Indian analysts say it meets most of New Delhi's demands, but communist allies of the government coalition threaten to withdraw support over the pact, saying it compromises India's sovereignty. Singh defends the deal as crucial to India's prosperity. * July 9, 2008: India's left withdraws support for the government, and calls for a vote of no confidence. India submits a draft nuclear safeguards accord to the IAEA governors for

approval, despite earlier assurances it would wait to do so until after winning the confidence vote. * July 10: Agreeing to demands from the left, Singh calls for a vote of confidence in his government. * July 22 - Singh wins confidence vote. * Aug. 1 - IAEA governors approve India nuclear inspections plan. * Sept. 6 - The 45 nuclear supplier states approve the U.S. nuclear deal, clearing a key international hurdle. * Sept. 27 - U.S. House of Representatives approves deal. * Oct 1, 2008: Senate passes the approval bill 86-13. *********************************************************************

Deal at a glance * July 18, 2005: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush sign a joint statement in Washington on IndiaUS civil nuclear cooperation. * March 2, 2006: India and the US “finalize” framework of the agreement during President Bush’s visit to Delhi. India to separate its civil and nuclear facilities and put 14 civil facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. In exchange, US agrees to work towards full civil nuclear cooperation with India. * Dec 9 , 2006: Both houses of US Congress approve the Henry J. Hyde US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006. Better known as the Hyde Act, it grants the US administration a waiver from Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act to resume nuclear commerce with India. * Dec 18, 2006: Bush signs the enabling legislation permitting full civilian nuclear cooperation with India into law. * July 27, 2007: India and the US announce the finalization of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement, also called the 123 agreement. * October 2007: The deal runs into problems after the Indian government’s Left allies attack it as being against the country’s interests and compromising its sovereignty.

* November 2007-June 2008: India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its Left allies set up a joint panel and agree to allow the government to carry on negotiations with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on an India-specific safeguards agreement. * May 2008: India finalizes the text of the safeguards agreement with IAEA and indicates it will sign it. * June 25, 2008: The Left parties give an ultimatum to withdraw support if the government goes ahead with signing the safeguards agreement with IAEA. * July 7, 2008: Manmohan Singh leaves for Japan to attend the G8 summit and midair he tells accompanying mediapersons that the government was planning to go ahead with the IAEA pact. * July 9, 2008: The Left parties withdraw support to the government and call for a vote of confidence. * July 22, 2008: The UPA government wins the trust vote in parliament. * Aug 1 , 2008 - IAEA governors approve India’s nuclear inspections plan. * Sep 6, 2008: The 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) grants waiver to India opening the doors to global nuclear commerce for New Delhi after three decades. * Sep 10, 2008: President Bush notifies Congress to take up the India-US nuclear deal and give it the approval. * Sep 23, 2008: The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves the agreement but its new provisions stating that the deal will be subject to the Hyde Act create some uncertainty. * Sep 2 5, 2008: Manmohan Singh meets Bush in Washington. Bush tells him the administration is working hard to get the 123 agreement approved by the US Congress. * Sep 2 6 , 2008: US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman introduces the approval resolution to 123 agreement but with similar provisions as those in the Senate. * Sep 27, 2008: House of Representatives passes the 123 agreement for civil nuclear cooperation between India and the US by a margin of 298-117. * Oct 1, 2008: Senate passes the approval bill 86-13. *********************************************************************

Q

& A The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a landmark deal ending the three-decade ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India, handing a victory to President George W. Bush on one of his top foreign policy priorities.

WHAT IS THE PACT? * Overturning a 34-year-old ban, it allows the Asian power access to U.S. civil nuclear fuel and technology although it has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, and has not ruled out doing more. * Under the amendment, India must separate its civil and military nuclear facilities, and submit civil facilities to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. * The agreement means other countries can sell India nuclear technology and fuel. France signed such a deal this week.

WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL? * Critics say it undermines the NPT, membership of which has long been the guideline for the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) export cartel to provide civilian nuclear assistance. * Critics also say it undercuts Washington's efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear programme and opens the way for a potential arms race in South Asia between India and Pakistan. * India says 14 of its 22 nuclear facilities are civilian. The pact could make bomb-making easier at the other eight, as civilian nuclear fuel needs will be met by the United States.

WHO WILL BENEFIT? * U.S. and European companies that supply nuclear technology and help build reactors. The deal could open up around $27 billion in investment in 18-20 nuclear plants over the next 15 years, according to Confederation of Indian Industry. * By 2030, the economic benefits that will accrue to India's economy as a result of nuclear trade could touch $500 billion, says Imagindia Institute, an Indian lobby group.

* India. It becomes a de facto nuclear power. New Delhi even says it still can test nuclear weapons if it needs to, although a waiver of NSG rules adopted to allow trade with India indicates this would be cut off if India tested again. * India's economy. It relies on imported oil for some 70 percent of its energy needs and the government says nuclear power will help feed its rapidly expanding economy. * Washington. The deal will mean deeper ties between Washington and Delhi just as India starts to embrace the West. It is not just about friendship -- the U.S., for example, may now have a better chance of winning a $10 billion fighter deal from India, the world's biggest arms contract.

WHO WON'T BENEFIT? * Pakistan, India's nuclear rival, has sought a similar deal with Washington but was refused because of a poor non-proliferation record. As a result, Islamabad has talked of expanding nuclear cooperation with China. Pakistan has not signed the NPT. * China. Some analysts see the India deal as part of attempts by the United States to counterbalance China's influence in Asia. * The environment. The deal will still have a minimal impact on India's power industry. Dirty coal-fired power stations and hydroelectric dams will continue to account for the lion's share of its power generation.

IS THE DEAL POPULAR IN INDIA? * Polls show most Indians are far more worried about the economy and inflation than some abstract nuclear deal. * The powerful communists withdrew their support for the Congress-led government over the deal, saying it made India a pawn of Washington. Hindu nationalists also oppose the deal, saying it limits India's ability to test nuclear weapons. * Nevertheless, the deal is seen as one of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's biggest achievements in four years in power.

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ANALYSIS SINGAPORE : The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a deal ending a three-decade ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India, unleashing billions of dollars of investment and drawing the world's second most populous country closer to the West. The Bush administration says the pact will secure a strategic partnership with the world's largest democracy, help India meet its rising energy demand and open up a market worth billions. But critics say the deal does grave damage to global efforts to contain the spread of nuclear weapons, by letting India import nuclear fuel and technology even though it has tested nuclear weapons and never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

COMMENTS: C. RAJA MOHAN, SINGAPORE-BASED SECURITY ANALYST 'The deal gives a kind of parity between India and China in terms of geopolitical and strategic importance in Asia. 'Before the deal, India was not part of the international calculus in Asia. Now it is.'

MOHAN MALIK, PROFESSOR AT THE ASIA PACIFIC CENTRE FOR SECURITY STUDIES, HONOLULU 'In terms of India-United States, it will be a boost for business ties. It's not just about nuclear technology but the transfer of high technology to India. With business, the major beneficiaries will be the United States, France and Russis, in that order. In security and geopolitical terms, it de-hyphenates India and Pakistan, and rehyphenates India and China in terms of a competitive strategic relationship. It brings about a shift in the balance of power in South Asia. It will not please Pakistan and China but it remains to be seen whether it will damage the Non-Proliferation Treaty.'

DARYL KIMBALL, HEAD OF THE ARMS CONTROL ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON

'The U.S.-Indian Agreement for Nuclear Cooperation is ... a non-proliferation disaster. Contrary to the counterfactual claims of proponents and apologists, it does not bring India into the 'non-proliferation mainstream.'

CHANG YOUNG HO, NUCLEAR ENERGY EXPERT FROM THE ECONOMICS DIVISION OF S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, SINGAPORE '... it is significant because the deal is aiming for civilian use, it could set a good precedent for cooperative competition. It's a good example in terms of the U.S. and India on how big countries can collaborate, increase the pie and increase the field and compete in it.' *********************************************************************

FACTBOX The U.S. Congress approved a landmark deal on Wednesday ending a three-decade ban on nuclear trade with India, unleashing billions of dollars of investment and drawing the world's second most populous country closer to the West. These are key business and economic implications of the deal: -- The agreement could open up around $27 billion in investments in 18-20 nuclear plants over the next 15 years, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. -- By 2030, the overall economic benefits that will accrue to India's economy as a result of nuclear trade could touch $500 billion, says Imagindia Institute, an Indian lobby group. -- The deal is expected to double nuclear power's share in India's electricity supply to 5-7 percent in the next two decades. -- With nuclear fuel in short supply, India's nuclear power plants are running at 55 percent of their capacity of about 4,000 megawatts. -- India's electricity supply, about 15 percent short of demand in peak hours, will get a boost after the deal, but any new nuclear power plant may take a decade to be completed, leaving the country dependent of coal and liquid fuels. -- Indian media say the country's monopoly Nuclear Power Corp has tentatively picked four suppliers, including U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric and France's Areva, for planned new projects. Westinghouse is a unit of Toshiba Corp. Areva said on Monday that it hoped to sign a contract with Indian authorities to deliver two advanced EPR reactors.

-- India is also reported to be negotiating with General Electric, Hitachi and Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom. -- Russia is already building two 1,000 megawatt reactors at Kudankulam in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu as part of a deal signed in 1988. Indian officials say the two countries will begin discussions on a multi-billion dollar agreement to build four more nuclear reactors in Kudankulam which has been delayed because of international restrictions against New Delhi. Russian nuclear reactors cost up to $2 billion each but India could expect to get a hefty discount on such a major deal, as Russia competes with the United States for influence in India.

********************************************************************* Compilation by : Kamlesh Maheshwari , Courtesy : PTI, Reuters, IANS, Zeenews