Nuclear scientists guarantee national security

Mumbai, Mar 9 (UNI) India's nuclear sceientists today guaranteed the national security while declining to comment if the country would have sufficient nuclear assets so as to take care of strategic concerns vis-a-vis China.

While stating that India's strategic concerns were not country-specific, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar said India is committed to maintaining '' credible minimal nuclear deterrent'' as embedded in the nation's nuclear doctrine.

Asked if the nuclear community could assure the nation that the India-US nuclear deal has taken care of strategic concerns with respect of China, the AEC Chairman said the country is committed to the '' credible minimal nuclear deterrent but it is not country-specific..... it is a dynamic concept embedded in our nuclear doctrine but it is not arms race (either),'' he told a media conference here this evening.

There was no change in the country's nuclear doctrine, Dr Kakodkar added.

When asked what would happen if the US entered into similar nuclear deal with Pakistan, he quipped '' I will not answer any political question''.

Dr Kakodkar said the nuclear deal was a '' win-win'' situation for India as it did not constraint India's research and development activities in the nuclear technology even while opening gateway for seeking international cooperation in nuclear energy field to meet her needs to keep up the momentum of her growing economy.

Besides the AEC Chairman, Bhabha Atomic Research Commission director Dr S Banerjee, Strategic Planning Group Chairman Dr R B Grover and Nuclear Power Corporation CMD S K Jain were present during the 100-minute media interaction at BARC here.

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