PUNE, 27 November 2007 — Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Dr. Anil Kakodkar said deliberations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to reach an India-specific nuclear safeguards agreement has no deadline.

Dr. Kakodkar, who spoke on the sidelines of the Walchandnagar Industries Limited centenary celebrations, explained that the safeguards agreement included various elements and was a complex issue.

He added that the ongoing talks were being undertaken with a view to ensuring that Indian interests were safeguarded.

Kakodkar said that the second round of negotiations with the IAEA would be held after 10 days and that everything would be taken into consideration.

The AEC chairman said that after talks with the IAEA, India has to approach the 45-member Nuclear Supply Group (NSG) after which the US Congress has to clear the 123 agreement.

He added that the safeguards agreement was only the beginning and that this would be followed by a clean and unconditional agreement with the NSG preceding the clearance of the 123 agreement by the US Congress. He also said that following this there would be other bilateral cooperation agreements and the operationalizing of the safeguards agreement.

If the nuclear deal with the US goes through, it would be a big business opportunity for Indian companies, Kakodkar said. “When we open up the civil nuclear market, there will be a two-way traffic. Surely, Indian industries will get business in making the nuclear power plants,” he said.

Asked how many nuclear plants India would get, Dr. Kakodkar said that it would be incorrect to speculate at this juncture as to when and how much nuclear power plants India would get. “The nuclear deal has to pass through a fair number of steps. Let’s not prejudge on when India starts getting nuclear power,” he said.

India already has a couple of nuclear plants in Rajasthan and Tarapore in Mumbai under the international safeguards. “These are facility-specific safeguards while we are not discussing a broader India-specific agreement. There are a number of elements that need to be discussed and fairly spelled out. We would like to get through the process as fast as we can. However, the agreement has to meet India’s requirement,” he said.

Avoiding to be drawn into politics on the nuclear issue, Dr. Kakodkar said, “I am a technical person. I will restrict myself to the technical field.”

To a question about China’s support for India at the NSG and that it was also supportive of the Indo-US nuke deal, the AEC chief said that he was happy to hear that but stressed that India had to wait and see this actually happening.