Nuclear in India @ whatisindia.com

India remains a firm and consistent proponent of general and complete disarmament and attaches the highest priority to global nuclear disarmament. India’s policy on disarmament also takes into account changes that have taken place in the world, especially in the 1990s. The nuclear tests of May 1998 do not dilute India ’s commitment to this long-held objective. As a nuclear weapon State , India is even more conscious of its responsibility in this regard and, as in the past, continues to take initiatives in pursuit of global nuclear disarmament both individually and collectively.

India’s nuclear weapons capability is meant only for self-defense and seeks only to ensure that India’s security, independence and integrity are not threatened in the future. India is not interested in a nuclear arms race. This is the rationale behind the two pillars of India’s nuclear policy – minimum deterrence and no-first use.

After concluding the series of tests of May 1998, India announced a voluntary moratorium on further underground nuclear test explosions. In announcing this moratorium, India accepted the core obligation of a test ban and also addressed the general wish of the international community to foreswear testing. This moratorium continues, subject to the supreme national interests, a provision granted under the CTBT to every country.

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The BJP today said the Indo-US nuclear deal needs to be renegotiated, overturning the impression that the party was softening its stand. (Bjp Roots For Nuke Rethink , Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The UPA-Left panel on the nuclear deal is unlikely to meet on November 16. Indications are that the next sitting could be held early next month. (Cloud On N-Panel Meet , Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The Indo-US nuclear deal should be renegotiated, said the BJP on Wednesday, ending speculation that the party was willing to help the government push it through. (Renegotiate Nuclear Deal, Says Bjp, Hindustan Times, Shekhar Iyer, Nov 08, 2007)

US President George W Bush bluntly asked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections in January as planned and quit as army chief as patience in Washington wore thin. (Bush To Mush: Hold Elections Soon, Times of India, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Stung by reports of confusion emanating from the BJP over the party’s stand on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the party today sought to cast its response in stone and spelt out its four-point opposition to the 123 Agreement. (Bjp Urges Upa For Renegotiation, Tribune, Rajeev Sharma, Nov 08, 2007)

IT was an amazing pointer by the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Dr P.K. Iyenger. (Nuclear Ignorance, Tribune, O.P. Sabherwal, Nov 08, 2007)

The last, wan defence but one is that Pakistan is too vast for any minority to rule effectively (Proud But A Failing State , Deccan Herald, Peter Preston, Nov 08, 2007)

With no signs of Left giving way on the India-US nuclear deal and expectations in the PMO of a shift in BJP's opposition to the pact proving unfounded, the November 17 AICC session will have just one omnibus political resolution which will mention . . . . (Congress To Play Down Us-India Nuclear Deal At Aicc, Times of India, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Russia’s parliament voted unanimously today to suspend a key arms treaty limiting conventional forces in Europe, saying the USA and NATO were using the pact to undermine Russia's defences. (Russian Duma Votes To Suspend Arms Treaty , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Wednesday it was “foolish” of U.S. President George Bush to have compared Lenin with Hitler. (Bush Ignorant Of History: Karat, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The global demand for energy is set to grow inexorably through to 2030 if governments do not change their policies, warns a top energy official. (Energy Needs 'To Grow Inexorably' , British Broadcasting Corporation, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Pakistan has pulled tens of thousands of troops from its border with India in a bid to quell rising violence by pro-Taliban militants in the northwest, officials said here Wednesday. (Pakistan Pulls Troops From Indian Border, Frontier Post, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The scare tactics used by the U.K.’s MI5 chief this week may win a few headlines to help the state, but do grave long-term damage. (Fear Speeches Are Utterly Self-Defeating, Hindu, Simon Jenkins, Nov 08, 2007)

U.S. ‘concern’ over China’s anti-satellite test has now come to colour their defence-related engagement. (A Hotline To Prevent A Cold War, Hindu, P. S. SURYANARAYANA, Nov 08, 2007)

It may be that India remains the only stable democracy in this part of the world, but we are obliged to remember that our democratic habits and manners are under daily assault from different sources. (A Few Simple Lessons From Pakistan Statecraft, Hindu, Harish Khare , Nov 08, 2007)

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the United Progressive Alliance committed a “significant strategic blunder,” presenting the nuclear deal as an “icon of India’s relations with the U.S.” (A Strategic Blunder: Bjp, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Switzerland is a member of IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (Nuclear Expert To Explain Deal With U.S. To Switzerland, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Wednesday made it clear that it was against the India-United States nuclear deal being “hustled through” as it would like the deal to be “re-negotiated.” (Bjp Wants Nuclear Deal Renegotiated, Hindu, NEENA VYAS , Nov 08, 2007)

Iran has built a landmark 3,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced today, despite international pressure to halt its atomic work. (Iran Has Reached Key Nuke Target: President, Statesman, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 08, 2007)

Iran has achieved a landmark, with 3,000 centrifuges fully working in its controversial uranium enrichment program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday. (Iran Has 3,000 Centrifuges Enriching Uranium, Pioneer, ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Nov 08, 2007)