India has an outstanding record as a non-proliferator: Bush

     Silver Spring (United States): Asserting that India is a non-proliferater, U.S. President George W. Bush has urged Congress to pass a law, which would allow the sale of nuclear technology to New Delhi. "India is a non-proliferater. It has been a non-proliferater for the past 30 years. They have got a record and in my judgment, (the record) should cause the Congress to pass old law. Treat them as a new partner as India wants to be a part of international agreements that will deal with proliferation," Bush said on Wednesday. The President went on to say that he didn't think the proposal i.e the July 18, 2005 civilian nuclear energy pact would harm U.S. relations with Pakistan. "The good news is that as I said in the speech there in India, Indians understand that it is good for the U.S. to be friendly with Pakistan and the Pakistanis understand it is good for the United States to be friendly with India which, as you note, is a change of kind of the relationship of the United States with those two countries," Bush said.

     The Bush administration last week submitted to Congress its proposal to change U.S. law to allow the sale of nuclear technology to India, Congressional sources said. The administration, according to informed sources, wants the first of two legislative steps to be enacted by May. There is a view that this could be difficult because the bill raises questions about an already complicated and controversial nuclear deal. Approved in principle last July and confirmed in more detail earlier this month by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the agreement would end a three decades-old ban on U.S. civilian nuclear technology sales. But the U.S. Congress must first approve it. The 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which oversees nuclear transfers, also must alter its regulations so foreign countries can supply India, whose rapid economic growth has created huge energy demands. India is currently barred under U.S and international law from acquiring foreign nuclear technology because it refused to sign the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and developed nuclear weapons. As a first step, the administration's proposal would exempt India from the Atomic Energy Act, which prohibits nuclear sales to non- NPT states, if Bush makes seven determinations. These include India providing Washington with a "credible" plan for separating its civilian and military nuclear facilities and supporting international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear enrichment and reprocessing technology. Although Bush and Singh announced that India would place 14 of 22 civilian nuclear power reactors under international inspections to guard against weapons diversion, one Congressional source said the data sent to Congress on this point was incomplete. In addition to obtaining the Atomic Energy Act exemption, the administration must negotiate a nuclear cooperation agreement with India, which sources said could take a year. That agreement must also be approved by Congress. But the sources said the administration has proposed that instead of requiring lawmakers to vote in favour of the agreement, the accord would automatically take effect unless Congress moved to block it.

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