NEW DELHI: India is a responsible nuclear power, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reassured the international community on Tuesday.

"Our message to the international community is ... loud and clear — India is willing to shoulder its share of international obligation as partner against proliferation provided our legitimate interests are safeguarded," he told a Defence Research and Development Organisation function here.

Dr. Singh cited last week's parliamentary approval of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery System Prohibition of Unlawful Activities Bill.

"In the defence field and the nuclear field, our strategic programmes are indigenous and not dependent on external sources of support. Nor can they be the subject of externally imposed constraints. Within these parameters, India is prepared for the broadest possible engagement with the international non-proliferation regime."

The Prime Minister's remarks assume significance in the context of the 2005 Review Conference on the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which began this month at the United Nations headquarters in New York. India is not a signatory to the NPT.

Describing the anti-proliferation Bill passed by Parliament as comparing "favourably with the best global standards on non-proliferation," Dr. Singh asserted that "India will not be, and I repeat, will not be a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies."

International suppliers of high technology had nothing to fear. The Bill only stressed "our unblemished non-proliferation record and our abiding commitment to non-proliferation principles."

The proposed law put in place a regime of "strict regulation of external transfers and tight control to prevent internal leakage."

Regretting that "bilateral and multilateral technology denial regimes targeting India still remain by and large in place," Dr. Singh said such regimes were "contrary to the logic of globalisation." He told the defence scientists, "we must continue to refine our capabilities to stay abreast of the cutting edge of knowledge and human endeavour."

`Involve private sector'

The Prime Minister urged the DRDO officials and scientists to think of the private sector as a partner in defence production. "Given the expansion of our private sector, both in technical and financial terms, we are at the threshold of a future in which the private sector contributes to the national cause of high technology defence. There is need for a new institutional framework to involve the private sector, to ensure continuous dialogue as well as to provide incentives for risk-taking."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |