What the future holds?

The constant fear going through my mind is that the deal might die out after coming so far.
Though,there is optimism in the Indian camp,I still have a lurking fear somewhere in my head.
Austria has been vociferously opposing the deal in its current form.I hope that America can use its might and influence them to change their mind.

There is no doubt that we need it.We have assured the NSG that India is committed to Non Profileration of the technology.Once the deal is through,India,can expect to be a future leader in nuclear world.With the deal will come the expertise,new technology for the reactors and after initially acquiring these from outside;we can start producing reactors indigenously.With the engineering expertise we have,we might well become one of the Nuclear Hubs of the world and in the time to come we might see India imposing sanctions on other countries,a treatment which till now has only been meted upon us.Wow,that will be great!

I have my fingers crossed and wish that it goes through.

The Bombshell....

There were strong convulsions in the Indian political circles when "The Washington Post" came out with a letter which said that the deal would terminate if and when India tests.Apparently,the letter was a reply given by Mr Bush to a question raised by a member of house of representatives.

Manmohan Singh had said on the floor of the house that the deal was immune to India testing;that it did'nt impinge upon India's right to test.It has given fodder to the anti deal people and Manmohan Singh is being asked to resign.Poor chap,he would be feeling that he would have been better off  with Mrs Gandhi taking all the battering,coz she is the real PM.
Anyways,this clause has been contentious.India does'nt want this clause in the draft.This has given a new twist to the NSG meet going on.Apparently Austria,New Zealand,Ireland,China,Switerland are the countries opposing the deal in its present form.
This revelation may eventually be to India's advantage as some countries felt that US was being too soft with India and this letter will quash all those doubts.

I only hope that the deal eventually goes through as Iam concerned about our energy needs.Politics for the time being can take the back seat.

The Indo-US deal...where are we headed??

The one piece of news which has been making all the headlines for quite sometime now is the Indo-US deal.It has managed to stand the test of time and still continues to move forward with some zeal.
The deal is an ambitious project undertaken by the two countries.It will grant India a unique position in the world.India,pakistan and Israel are the only three countries not to have signed the NPT(Non Profileration treaty).
NPT recognises only those countries as nuclear powers which had tested before 1967.India has refused to sign the treaty despite repeated attempts.It felt at that time that the treaty divided the world into Nuclear haves and havenots.India is willing to sign the deal provided that the time limit is pushed to 1974,that is the year when India conducted its first nuclear tests,as it will grant India the status of a Nuclear Power.But the World feels that providing for such an agreement would lead into other countries pushing for similar ambitions.Hence India had been given a pariah status and post 1998 blasts,sanctions have been imposed from various quarters on the supply of fuel,nuclear technology and reactors to India.

India with its evergrowing energy demands needs alternate sources of energy.US acknowledges this fact and is willing to enter into a deal with India owing to its immaculate non profileration record and advanced nuclear technology.The US blames India for burning carbonaceous fuels for meeting its energy demands.But then again how can they expect us not to do that if we are kept away from the nuclear world.

India has demarkated 14 of its 22 nuclear reactors as "civilian" reactors and agreed to place them under the IAEA safeguards.The deal allows India to enter into a bilateral agreement with the other NSG members even if the US decides to pull out of the deal.
The deal was passed with a thumping majority in the US house of representatives and the Senate.The Indian Govt. had to face a No Confidence Motion on this front due to the withdrawl of support by the Left and the eloquent opposition offered by the BJP.It won the vote.

Antagonists believe that the deal undermines NPT,which is the biggest roadblock in this deal.
India would not relent on signing the NPT as Pakistan has made it pretty clear that its nuclear arsenal is India specific.Others believe that it would provide India with fuel for its military requirements at those plants which are not under IAEA safeguards.

The IAEA has cleared the deal and the ball is now in NSG's court.If a consensus is reached ,it will grant India a unique position in the world and fuel its enery needs which are only expected to burgeon over time.