India gets NSG waiver

Vienna, Sept 6 : The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has agreed to grant India a "clean waiver" here today.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor Shicshankar Menon in New Delhi after two days of talks failed to break a deadlock in the NSG over granting a clean waiver to India.

On Friday, Pranab Mukherjee had issued fresh statement on India's commitment to non-proliferation.

The sources said no revised draft has been prepared yet but the amendments proposed by problem countries are 'killer amendments', like on testing.

India got a "clean waiver" from NSG's existing rules, which forbid nuclear trade with a country which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The NSG's decision came after three days of intense diplomacy by the US in the nuclear cartel that controls the global flow of nuclear fuel and technologies.

The seven countries holding out for tougher conditions to be written into the draft proposal granting India an exemption from the NSG's rules are Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, China, the Netherlands and Switzerland. They have raised questions at the NSG meeting, particularly with regard to the issue of nuclear testing. According to diplomatic sources, the number of countries pushing for approval of the exemption has also grown. Under the 45-nation cartel's rules of consensus decision-making, however, even one country has the right to block a decision.

Suspense mounted over the fate of the revised draft which was under discussion at the nuclear club with Indian and US officials going over the changes sceptic countries like Austria and New Zealand insisted on incorporating.

Austria gave enough indications that "more work still" needs to be done that will enable India cross a major hurdle in operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal.

ANI