Bedecked New Delhi to welcome Bush

      New Delhi: A bedecked New Delhi is all set to roll out a red carpet for its most prized guest, U.S. President George Bush, but analysts say the world's two biggest democracies are unlikely to make breakthrough in a key nuclear cooperation deal, at the centre point of the visit. Bush will begin a rare three-day visit to India on March 1 and officials from both nations have been scrambling with little success to reach a consensus on the civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement.

    The deal, agreed in principle last July, would give India access to U.S. civilian nuclear technology and experts say New Delhi views this a litmus test of improving U.S.-India ties. But the two sides are at odds over a plan to separate India's civilian and military facilities, subjecting civilian sites to international inspections while the military sites remain off- limits. The pressure is on to reach a deal by the time Bush arrives in New Delhi, but a formula outlined by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh falls short of Bush's stated criteria. Braham Chellaney, a leading New Delhi-based strategic analyst said the United States had been too clever for comfort in turning a deal, supposed to be based on strict reciprocity, into a sticky wicket for India to prove it is nuclear safe. "It is for the US to take a step and India will then take a reciprocal step at each point. But then now the onus has been put on India. The whole focus has become the nuclear separation plan in India-to divide the programme into the civil part and military part and the United State has set itself as a judge to whom India has to answer, to whom India has to satisfy," Chellaney said.

    The Indian Prime Minister had on Monday outlined New Delhi would only put nuclear reactors that generate about 65 percent of atomic power under international scrutiny. But India would not accept such safeguards on its experimental fast-breeder reactor program, a major sticking point in negotiations. Critics of the deal said under Singh's formula, a more nuclear- empowered India is comfortably leaving itself with the capacity to produce close to 50 bombs a year if they choose to do it. Many in the US Congress, whose approval is the key to the deal, as well has not minced words in its criticism saying supplying nuclear fuel to countries like India that have not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty derails their credibility in asking other countries to restrain. But although a delayed nuclear deal could slow improvement in US-India ties, Chellaney said the two countries are involved at so many other levels, including in defence and business that Bush's vision of a "strategic partnership" would continue. "There is a growing convergence of Indian and US interests on a number of issues and therefore it is no longer a question of whether these two countries should forge a partnership globally. The question is what sort of a partnership will they forge. Will it be a real close strategic partnership or will it be a partnership that will be more issue based. These are the issues, but in terms of the direction of the US-India relations, that direction has already been set and set quite firmly," he said. David C Mulford, US ambassador to India said, the gamut of cooperation between the two nation had gotten too large to be held hostage to any one particular issue.

   The nuclear focus, Mulford said, is too narrow to capture the full drama of rapidly warming ties between the two countries. "In every sort of area one looks at one sees this mutual interest and admiration building and that really is the focus of the relationship that touches every area whether it is science and technology, space, education, HIV/AIDS, agricultural, investment flows, energy in all forms not just civilian nuclear, environmental issues all of these areas are under discussion and constant advance between the two countries," Mulford said. Bush will share the spotlight with corporate moguls from both countries who will try to cut India's red tape and intensify the country's economic reforms. When Bush hosted the Indian Premier Washington last July, they launched the U.S.-India CEO Forum. The group unites executives from U.S. giants such as Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Honeywell International and Xerox Corp. with Indian majors such as the Tata Group, Reliance Industries and Infosys Technologies. This week the panel of 10 executives from each country will publish a major report on cutting red tape and tariffs.

   The Americans are likely to recommend reforms of the labor, financial, retail sectors and seek Indian commitments to improve intellectual property protection and uphold the sanctity of contracts. The ranks of American firms keen to serve India's rapidly growing and opening market includes nuclear power equipment suppliers but also defense contractors, bankers, agribusinesses, telecommunications firms and even Hollywood. Besides the CEOs and the political leader, Bush will also have another eager group waiting for him except that they are gunning for the American president's throat. Hundreds and thousands of Muslims have taken to streets in past weeks and vowed to disrupt the visit in protest of US operation in Iraq. India's Communists, who prop up Singh's ruling coalition, have also vowed to take to streets against the deal, which they term as a sell out to Washington.

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