Chennai (PTI): The government on Monday said there is nothing in the waiver granted by Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that stops India from carrying out nuclear tests in future.

"The right to test is sovereign. Nobody can take it away from us. There is nothing in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) (waiver) that prohibits" India, Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of the Golden Jubilee celebration of IIT, Madras, referring to the allegations by the BJP and Left parties.

Asked for his reaction to the reported remarks by US President George Bush that India would not go for nuclear tests, he said "we are not guided by the statements made by people around the world".

To a question about what would be the worst case scenario if fuel supplies were disrupted in the event of conducting the test, Sibal said "it is not as if the moment the 123 agreement is signed that all our reactors are put under safeguards. It doesn't happen that way.

"In the IAEA India-sepcific safeguards' agreement, we have a window from now to 2014, in which there are stages and in phases we will put the nuclear reactors under safeguards".

"If and when in the future any test is required to be done because of change in geopolitical situation, which is not an issue today, at that point of time we would have a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel. There is no problem of any disruption", he said.

Sibal said India would look at acquiring nuclear reactors and the required fuel after getting the clearances. "We will then enter into bilateral arrangements with various countries to satisfy those needs of fuel and build up strategic reserves."