A U.S.-Indo civilian nuclear deal is coming under attack not only from Indian opposition groups but also from the ruling coalition's Left party allies. Govt. in a jam, Reds play hard, said the headline on Friday's front page of The Times of India. Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted Thursday when the deal's opponents demanded a second look at it, despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's firm stand in support of it. There are growing concerns the Left allies may pull out of the alliance, forcing Singh's Congress Party to lose its parliamentary majority.
Opposition to the deal has been building in recent days and led to a shouting match in the lower house of Parliament after some reports quoted a U.S. State Department spokesman saying Washington could terminate the deal if India conducted another nuclear test. The deal, concluded recently after intense negotiations and long delays, will allow the United States to provide nuclear technology and fuel to India.
In India, the criticism stems from concerns it would interfere with India's foreign policy, despite Singh's repeated statements the deal will not deny India's right to carry out future nuclear tests. There is concern in the United States the deal would allow India to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
For god sake let us all understand this. For India, the benefits are arguably greater. Its booming but eergy-starved economy would gain access to much-needed nuclear fuel and technologies that is has been long denied by its refusal to sign nonproliferation accords. Hey!! for US and the lawmakers of India.. it is a call for "peace and trust" that leads India to another step in the journey to regain India's due place in the global council.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
India sounds out Japan about support for nuke deal with U.S.
TOKYO, Aug. 17 KYODO
India has approached Japan about having Prime Minister Shinzo Abe express support for New Delhi's civilian nuclear agreement with the United States during his visit to the country next week, in return for a pledge to cooperate with Abe's initiative to fight global warming, Japanese government sources said Friday.
Abe, however, is expected to forgo extending support for the deal during his talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi next Wednesday, given that the arrangements for the inspection of India's nuclear facilities have yet to be established, they said.
Abe is hoping to win cooperation from India, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, for his initiative to halve emissions by 2050. Global warming will be high on the agenda when Japan hosts next year's Group of Eight summit.
Indian officials have basically agreed that Singh will express "understanding and cooperation" regarding Abe's "Cool Earth 50" initiative, according to the sources. On the U.S.-Indian nuclear deal, Abe is expected only to reiterate Tokyo's stance that it is "considering" whether to support the deal, they said.
India, which is not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has conducted nuclear weapons tests since the 1970s, will be able to access U.S. nuclear technology in return for opening a majority of its reactors to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Abe has already suggested that Japan may support the deal in the future, but this week's visit is not the right time because it will take place just days after he pledged at ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to make efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Another factor that weighs against Abe extending support during his trip to Delhi is the lack of progress in India's safeguards negotiations with the IAEA since he emphasized the significance of the accord in his talks with Singh in Tokyo in December, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
India has approached Japan about having Prime Minister Shinzo Abe express support for New Delhi's civilian nuclear agreement with the United States during his visit to the country next week, in return for a pledge to cooperate with Abe's initiative to fight global warming, Japanese government sources said Friday.
Abe, however, is expected to forgo extending support for the deal during his talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi next Wednesday, given that the arrangements for the inspection of India's nuclear facilities have yet to be established, they said.
Abe is hoping to win cooperation from India, a major emitter of greenhouse gases, for his initiative to halve emissions by 2050. Global warming will be high on the agenda when Japan hosts next year's Group of Eight summit.
Indian officials have basically agreed that Singh will express "understanding and cooperation" regarding Abe's "Cool Earth 50" initiative, according to the sources. On the U.S.-Indian nuclear deal, Abe is expected only to reiterate Tokyo's stance that it is "considering" whether to support the deal, they said.
India, which is not a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has conducted nuclear weapons tests since the 1970s, will be able to access U.S. nuclear technology in return for opening a majority of its reactors to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Abe has already suggested that Japan may support the deal in the future, but this week's visit is not the right time because it will take place just days after he pledged at ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to make efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Another factor that weighs against Abe extending support during his trip to Delhi is the lack of progress in India's safeguards negotiations with the IAEA since he emphasized the significance of the accord in his talks with Singh in Tokyo in December, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Asutralia to sell uranium to india in face of fierce criticism from home, says newspaper
Finally Australia has agreed to sell uranium to India for use in nuclear power plant even though New Delhi has not signed the Nonproliferation Treaty on atomic weapons (as reported in local newspapers in sydney).
A condition of the deal would be that inspectorts would be allowed to check the chain of supply of the nucler fuel to ensure none was siphoned off into weapons programs, as the Australian Newspapers said.
The national security committee of the federal cabinet reportedly made the decision late tuesday but it would not be annouced until Prime Minister John Howard has advised his India counterpart, Manmohan Singh.
Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium and the move would mark a major change in its policiy of refusing to sell the nuclear fuel to countries that have not signed the NPT. Howard's government, a strong supporter of US President George W. Bush's administration, has signaled a break with the policy after New Delhi finalized a landmark civilian nuclear deal with the US last month.
The deal would allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possesssing nuclear weapons, making it an exception under the NPT. Bush and Singh discussed the agreement on phone on Tuesday, the White House said, as officials looked for ways to overcome stiff opposition in the US Congress to the pact, which Bush sees as a key foreign policy victory (thanks to the diasporas too). Australia, meanwhile has been under pressure to sell uranium to India since agreeing last year to supply rival Asian giant China. India and China already have nuclear weapons but Beijing has signed the NPT while New Delgi has not. Both countries say they want Australia's uranium simply to fuel nuclear power stations to meet the soaring demand for electricity from their booming economies. But the main Australian opposition party, which is tipped by opinion polls to out Howard's government in the election this year, has condemned any deal with India. The decision to bypass the NPT would send the wrong message to the international community, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd told repoerters. "It is a very bad development indeed when we have the possibility of the government of Australia stepping outside the nonproliferation treaty, saying it's OK to sell uranium to a country which isn't a signatory to the NPT".
A condition of the deal would be that inspectorts would be allowed to check the chain of supply of the nucler fuel to ensure none was siphoned off into weapons programs, as the Australian Newspapers said.
The national security committee of the federal cabinet reportedly made the decision late tuesday but it would not be annouced until Prime Minister John Howard has advised his India counterpart, Manmohan Singh.
Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium and the move would mark a major change in its policiy of refusing to sell the nuclear fuel to countries that have not signed the NPT. Howard's government, a strong supporter of US President George W. Bush's administration, has signaled a break with the policy after New Delhi finalized a landmark civilian nuclear deal with the US last month.
The deal would allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology while possesssing nuclear weapons, making it an exception under the NPT. Bush and Singh discussed the agreement on phone on Tuesday, the White House said, as officials looked for ways to overcome stiff opposition in the US Congress to the pact, which Bush sees as a key foreign policy victory (thanks to the diasporas too). Australia, meanwhile has been under pressure to sell uranium to India since agreeing last year to supply rival Asian giant China. India and China already have nuclear weapons but Beijing has signed the NPT while New Delgi has not. Both countries say they want Australia's uranium simply to fuel nuclear power stations to meet the soaring demand for electricity from their booming economies. But the main Australian opposition party, which is tipped by opinion polls to out Howard's government in the election this year, has condemned any deal with India. The decision to bypass the NPT would send the wrong message to the international community, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd told repoerters. "It is a very bad development indeed when we have the possibility of the government of Australia stepping outside the nonproliferation treaty, saying it's OK to sell uranium to a country which isn't a signatory to the NPT".
Indian prime minister defends nuclear agreement with US
By Rama LakshmiWashington Post Foreign ServiceTuesday, August 14, 2007; Page A09
NEW DELHI, Aug. 13
Amid angry protests from lawmakers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the nation Monday that India was free to conduct nuclear tests and that its nuclear weapons program would remain untouched under a controversial nuclear energy deal with the United States.
Singh defended the historic agreement during a speech in Parliament, even as opposition members stormed the floor of the chamber shouting, "Take back the nuclear deal!" The prime minister assured lawmakers that India's sovereignty had not been compromised and that many of the country's concerns had been addressed during earlier negotiations with the United States.
The government has never "shied away from a full discussion in Parliament on this important issue," Singh said. Known as the "1-2-3 agreement," the nuclear deal has been bitterly opposed by parties inside and outside Singh's coalition government. Since the text of the deal was released earlier this month, it has been the source of a war of words between Singh and a bloc of coalition partners -- including Communist and other leftist parties -- that provide crucial support to the government and are suspicious of ties with the United States. The bloc has called for a renegotiation of the deal and for a constitutional amendment that would require a parliamentary nod to such international agreements in the future.
Announced in July 2005, the nuclear deal has been controversial both in the United States and in India. It has been criticized in the United States because it offers nuclear fuel and technology to a country that has not signed any nonproliferation treaties; in India, lawmakers and others see it as giving the United States undue influence over a strategic national asset.
The future of the deal is not in jeopardy because it does not require Parliament's approval. Still, Singh has reacted defiantly to the criticism, saying in an interview published Saturday in the Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper: "It is an honorable deal, the cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them [lawmakers] to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it."
In his speech Monday, Singh said the deal protected India's right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel that originated in the United States. "It would also include development of a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of our reactors," he said.
India conducted a nuclear test in 1998 under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which also initiated the strategic partnership dialogue with the United States. Though party members have criticized the deal, analysts say their opposition is merely tactical.
Singh ended Monday's speech on a reflective note.
"I am neither given to exaggeration nor am I known to be self-congratulatory," he said.
"I will let history judge. I will let posterity judge the value of what we have done through this agreement. It is another step in our journey to regain our due place in global councils."
NEW DELHI, Aug. 13
Amid angry protests from lawmakers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the nation Monday that India was free to conduct nuclear tests and that its nuclear weapons program would remain untouched under a controversial nuclear energy deal with the United States.
Singh defended the historic agreement during a speech in Parliament, even as opposition members stormed the floor of the chamber shouting, "Take back the nuclear deal!" The prime minister assured lawmakers that India's sovereignty had not been compromised and that many of the country's concerns had been addressed during earlier negotiations with the United States.
The government has never "shied away from a full discussion in Parliament on this important issue," Singh said. Known as the "1-2-3 agreement," the nuclear deal has been bitterly opposed by parties inside and outside Singh's coalition government. Since the text of the deal was released earlier this month, it has been the source of a war of words between Singh and a bloc of coalition partners -- including Communist and other leftist parties -- that provide crucial support to the government and are suspicious of ties with the United States. The bloc has called for a renegotiation of the deal and for a constitutional amendment that would require a parliamentary nod to such international agreements in the future.
Announced in July 2005, the nuclear deal has been controversial both in the United States and in India. It has been criticized in the United States because it offers nuclear fuel and technology to a country that has not signed any nonproliferation treaties; in India, lawmakers and others see it as giving the United States undue influence over a strategic national asset.
The future of the deal is not in jeopardy because it does not require Parliament's approval. Still, Singh has reacted defiantly to the criticism, saying in an interview published Saturday in the Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper: "It is an honorable deal, the cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them [lawmakers] to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it."
In his speech Monday, Singh said the deal protected India's right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel that originated in the United States. "It would also include development of a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of our reactors," he said.
India conducted a nuclear test in 1998 under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which also initiated the strategic partnership dialogue with the United States. Though party members have criticized the deal, analysts say their opposition is merely tactical.
Singh ended Monday's speech on a reflective note.
"I am neither given to exaggeration nor am I known to be self-congratulatory," he said.
"I will let history judge. I will let posterity judge the value of what we have done through this agreement. It is another step in our journey to regain our due place in global councils."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Should we debate the billion $ intent
China intends to spend $50billion to build 32 nuclear plants by 2020. Some analyst say that China will build 300 more by the middle of the century. That would be much to what all the number of nuclear plants in the world generate today. US in comparison has just more than 100 operating nuclear plants, that US has kept building them on hold since 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, so did communist country like Russia after the Chernobyl disaster.
The Chinese economy is expected to be the world's largest, and the idea that it may get most of its electricity from nuclear fission seems very natural. Today China drives only 2.3% of its electricity from nuclear power as compared to US and France that drives 20% and 80%. Nine countries get 40% or more of their electricity from nuclear power. Interestingly many of the developed countries are generating power using nuclear fission.
So China is also taking a similar path to support its economic growth and socio economic growth. Hmm!! should this be a problem. Should we ask for the same for India where the economy is growing at the similar rate, and needs to secure the needs of India's fast growing economy + socio economic growth. Let us debate - "in favor" or "not in favor".
The Chinese economy is expected to be the world's largest, and the idea that it may get most of its electricity from nuclear fission seems very natural. Today China drives only 2.3% of its electricity from nuclear power as compared to US and France that drives 20% and 80%. Nine countries get 40% or more of their electricity from nuclear power. Interestingly many of the developed countries are generating power using nuclear fission.
So China is also taking a similar path to support its economic growth and socio economic growth. Hmm!! should this be a problem. Should we ask for the same for India where the economy is growing at the similar rate, and needs to secure the needs of India's fast growing economy + socio economic growth. Let us debate - "in favor" or "not in favor".
Monday, July 16, 2007
Impeccable record on non-proliferation
While India is negotiating with the US on the civilian nuclear deal that has captured the media attention on the last 21 months, Indian officials and diasporas supporting the NSG Campaign for India is seeking all support from the NSG members to exempt India from nuclear explort ban... in a positive stance, that the current impasse is a result of economic factor, not political ones. India will have to get the nod of all 45 members if its wants to get the imbargo lifted.
Interestingly the proponents of revision of global nuclear rules in favour of India are US, Russia, France and UK, of which many are pushing to rewrite the rules and allow nuclear trade with India. Recently, China agreeing to promote cooperation in the field of nuclear energy with India also showed a significant shift from the past. Even countries like South Africa has absolutely no problems in supporting India and hopes Canada will come out to support. However countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Australia are of concern. This is true partially with Japan.
Japanse Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is said to have told the Indian Government that Japan want India firsit to conclude the bilateral civil nuclear-energy pact (refering to section 123 of US Atomic Energy Act of 1954) with US and a safeguard agreement with the IEAA. Japan will decide on supporting India at the NSG only after this. Hmm!! for sure we need the support from Japan ad I would urge every law makers, diplomats, citizens of Japan to support India. To this would urge the Indian diaspora set talk about the issues and reasoning why this is important for us.. make help change the stage. It is only when NSG lift the sanction nuclear energy can become a reality in India - securing the needs of India's fast growing economy + socio economic growth.
Interestingly the proponents of revision of global nuclear rules in favour of India are US, Russia, France and UK, of which many are pushing to rewrite the rules and allow nuclear trade with India. Recently, China agreeing to promote cooperation in the field of nuclear energy with India also showed a significant shift from the past. Even countries like South Africa has absolutely no problems in supporting India and hopes Canada will come out to support. However countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Australia are of concern. This is true partially with Japan.
Japanse Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is said to have told the Indian Government that Japan want India firsit to conclude the bilateral civil nuclear-energy pact (refering to section 123 of US Atomic Energy Act of 1954) with US and a safeguard agreement with the IEAA. Japan will decide on supporting India at the NSG only after this. Hmm!! for sure we need the support from Japan ad I would urge every law makers, diplomats, citizens of Japan to support India. To this would urge the Indian diaspora set talk about the issues and reasoning why this is important for us.. make help change the stage. It is only when NSG lift the sanction nuclear energy can become a reality in India - securing the needs of India's fast growing economy + socio economic growth.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Politics@ Work
Hmm!! This is not a new subject for the senior managers. I think at one point of time each of us have felt the politics at work, and so have I too in great degree. Oh yes!! Good politics is good and Bad politics is worst. Even though you try to avoid, you still get it and this is why political awareness in an organization will become increasingly important. As one of my colleague Fellow at the CMI says, "Lack of political awareness can have lasting repercussions. If you really want an organization to achive success in today's complex environment, you cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the political dimension of your business or service".
So why!! it all starts from the need to "get things done", which applies in the place of work. Everyone needs political skills to manage and achieve goals. None of us can operate in vacuum, immune from the need to consider the impact of our actions or inactions on others. The good news is that managers are not solely driven by self interest, they do use thier skills to build alliances and gain concensus and they are not the least bit machiavellian about the way they go about it. Politics is simply a fact of life but it is growing in importance and managers needs to know how to play it. Do you all think the same.
So here are few questions for discussion
- do you think most common understanding of "politics" among managers is of alliance-building to achieve organziational objectives.
- do you as managers view politics solely in term of poeple "protecting" their turf or pursuing pesonal advantages
- do shaping key priorities withnin the organization is currently viewed as the most important activity requiring political awareness skills
- Does the future managers prdict a signnificant shift in the needs to use political skills to build external relationships
- Do you as manager think your political awareness is "good" or "excellent".
So why!! it all starts from the need to "get things done", which applies in the place of work. Everyone needs political skills to manage and achieve goals. None of us can operate in vacuum, immune from the need to consider the impact of our actions or inactions on others. The good news is that managers are not solely driven by self interest, they do use thier skills to build alliances and gain concensus and they are not the least bit machiavellian about the way they go about it. Politics is simply a fact of life but it is growing in importance and managers needs to know how to play it. Do you all think the same.
So here are few questions for discussion
- do you think most common understanding of "politics" among managers is of alliance-building to achieve organziational objectives.
- do you as managers view politics solely in term of poeple "protecting" their turf or pursuing pesonal advantages
- do shaping key priorities withnin the organization is currently viewed as the most important activity requiring political awareness skills
- Does the future managers prdict a signnificant shift in the needs to use political skills to build external relationships
- Do you as manager think your political awareness is "good" or "excellent".
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Diaspora gets into the act in NSG countries
Diaspora gets into the act in NSG countries
Section: National Date:May 31,2007
Devirupa Mitra, Soecial Correspondant
NEW DELHI, May 31: Last year marked the ‘coming-out’ party for the Indian-Americans as a visible and effective lobbying bloc at Capitol Hill. Now, one of the main professional lobby groups, Washington-based US India political action committee wants to extrapolate their success in the legislative process in the US into a more widely spread campaign among the Diaspora residing in countries that are members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This public diplomacy effort was actually launched in January, only a couple of weeks after the US President signed the Henry Hyde US-India peaceful atomic energy cooperation act in December 2006. At that time, there was a lot of optimism, at least on the US side, that it would take only a few more meetings to seal the 123 agreement and bring it before the US congress for an “up” or “down” vote. They also knew that India was only willing to conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA for its civilian nuclear facilities only after the completion of the bilateral agreement. The 44-member Nuclear Suppliers Group would only take up the US proposal to allow members to transfer items on the trigger list to India, a non-signatory of the NPT, after the 123 agreement was in the bag. Also, several members had insisted that they wanted to assess the safeguards agreement with IAEA, before reaching a decision. The US had first circulated a draft proposal to NSG members in March 2006. Since all decisions are taken by consensus in NSG, there have since been a lot of discussions by both American and Indian officials separately with individual members of the NSG. While the supporters’ bench has heavyweights like US, UK, France and Russia, the Scandinavian countries, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland had expressed strong reservations. Based on their experience of the lobbying effort learned during the American process, USINPAC has decided to teach their “lessons learnt” to Indians settled in some NSG countries, whose approval would be crucial for India’s efforts to be included in the worldwide nuclear trade regime. A senior information technology executive, Dr. Indranil Nath, is the main driver for the NSG campaign in Japan, where he has been first trying to drive home the importance of NSG issue to the relatively small Indian community. “You do not need to be big and old to make an impact. Even being small and focused would win the race,” he told The Statesman, adding that he expected the majority of the thousand-odd Indian residents in Japan to get involved in the campaign. While the Indian government has brought up the NSG issue with Japan at several forums, there has never been an explicit statement from the Japanese government ~ not exactly surprising considering the traditional non-proliferation position of Japan. Dr. Nath said they were currently planning an intensive contact program through articles in Japanese press, seminars organised by industry chambers, Indian and Japanese companies, invitations to lawmakers in Japan to urge them to support India’s case. In the United Kingdom, Dr Linda Spedding, a corporate lawyer with an international consultancy practice, said that besides e-mail campaigns and workshops with think tanks, the “special focus” would be to encourage the local Indian community to utilise their links with their lawmakers. “We also have close connections with lawmakers through the legal community and the public sector, so the links are already in place,” she told The Statesman. Since Britain is already one of the strongest supporters of India’s case, she said the efforts would be to push UK to be more pro-active in persuading other NSG members who are sitting on the fence. “We will be carrying out an outreach programme to MPs here once the 123 deal is done with the US and we will lobby on the basis that British activity should bring a ‘force multiplier’ effect at the NSG for India given the special position of the UK. Meanwhile, the USINPAC co-founder, Mr Robinder Sachdeva said that the first plan to be executed under the “NSG campaign for India” will be an e-mail campaign next week targeted at over 100,000 people of Indian origin living in various NSG member states. But, for all this to actually get off the ground, India and the US will have to successfully complete their negotiations for a bilateral agreement, which will be politically acceptable for the leadership of both countries, which is far from a done deal.
Section: National Date:May 31,2007
Devirupa Mitra, Soecial Correspondant
NEW DELHI, May 31: Last year marked the ‘coming-out’ party for the Indian-Americans as a visible and effective lobbying bloc at Capitol Hill. Now, one of the main professional lobby groups, Washington-based US India political action committee wants to extrapolate their success in the legislative process in the US into a more widely spread campaign among the Diaspora residing in countries that are members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This public diplomacy effort was actually launched in January, only a couple of weeks after the US President signed the Henry Hyde US-India peaceful atomic energy cooperation act in December 2006. At that time, there was a lot of optimism, at least on the US side, that it would take only a few more meetings to seal the 123 agreement and bring it before the US congress for an “up” or “down” vote. They also knew that India was only willing to conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA for its civilian nuclear facilities only after the completion of the bilateral agreement. The 44-member Nuclear Suppliers Group would only take up the US proposal to allow members to transfer items on the trigger list to India, a non-signatory of the NPT, after the 123 agreement was in the bag. Also, several members had insisted that they wanted to assess the safeguards agreement with IAEA, before reaching a decision. The US had first circulated a draft proposal to NSG members in March 2006. Since all decisions are taken by consensus in NSG, there have since been a lot of discussions by both American and Indian officials separately with individual members of the NSG. While the supporters’ bench has heavyweights like US, UK, France and Russia, the Scandinavian countries, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland had expressed strong reservations. Based on their experience of the lobbying effort learned during the American process, USINPAC has decided to teach their “lessons learnt” to Indians settled in some NSG countries, whose approval would be crucial for India’s efforts to be included in the worldwide nuclear trade regime. A senior information technology executive, Dr. Indranil Nath, is the main driver for the NSG campaign in Japan, where he has been first trying to drive home the importance of NSG issue to the relatively small Indian community. “You do not need to be big and old to make an impact. Even being small and focused would win the race,” he told The Statesman, adding that he expected the majority of the thousand-odd Indian residents in Japan to get involved in the campaign. While the Indian government has brought up the NSG issue with Japan at several forums, there has never been an explicit statement from the Japanese government ~ not exactly surprising considering the traditional non-proliferation position of Japan. Dr. Nath said they were currently planning an intensive contact program through articles in Japanese press, seminars organised by industry chambers, Indian and Japanese companies, invitations to lawmakers in Japan to urge them to support India’s case. In the United Kingdom, Dr Linda Spedding, a corporate lawyer with an international consultancy practice, said that besides e-mail campaigns and workshops with think tanks, the “special focus” would be to encourage the local Indian community to utilise their links with their lawmakers. “We also have close connections with lawmakers through the legal community and the public sector, so the links are already in place,” she told The Statesman. Since Britain is already one of the strongest supporters of India’s case, she said the efforts would be to push UK to be more pro-active in persuading other NSG members who are sitting on the fence. “We will be carrying out an outreach programme to MPs here once the 123 deal is done with the US and we will lobby on the basis that British activity should bring a ‘force multiplier’ effect at the NSG for India given the special position of the UK. Meanwhile, the USINPAC co-founder, Mr Robinder Sachdeva said that the first plan to be executed under the “NSG campaign for India” will be an e-mail campaign next week targeted at over 100,000 people of Indian origin living in various NSG member states. But, for all this to actually get off the ground, India and the US will have to successfully complete their negotiations for a bilateral agreement, which will be politically acceptable for the leadership of both countries, which is far from a done deal.
The ABC of India's nuclear economics
Here is a article by Robinder Sachdev - New Delhi, India. Robinder is a co-founder and director of the US India Political Action Committee, and president of the Imagindia Institute. The views expressed are personal.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/31guest.htm
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/31guest.htm
NSG Campaign for India
So let me introduce to all of you about what NSG Campaign for India is all about. The NSG Campaign for India has already begun and it needs vibrant inputs from social entrepreneurs, community leaders, and the passive Indian Diasporas across the globe, lobbying in their home countries to support India’s case at the NSG, people of Indian origin can make a landmark contribution to India’s energy security, and thereby its socio-economic growth. By engaging with law makers, opinion leaders, think tanks, media, and the nuclear power industry in their adopted homelands, we except every diaspora can add the punch of public diplomacy to the efforts of the people of India to obtain rightful access to civil nuclear energy. The campaign is headed by Robinder Sachdev – New Delhi, India, who is an expert on US-India relations and economic diplomacy; Dolly Kapoor – Simi Valley, California, who has conceptualized and led nationwide grassroots campaigns in the US, and also earlier in Botswana; Dr Linda Spedding – London , who serves on several committees, including the SCI Business Strategy Committee, India Task Force and is an International Sustainability Advisor to the CII and to TERI in India; Vidhya Sampath – Rotterdam, The Netherlands, who is an alumnis of the Centre of Environment Planning and Technology in Ahmedabad India and finally me - Dr. Indranil Nath – Tokyo, Japan. Check out http://www.nsgcampaign.com/ for more details.
Joining the Bloggers Park
Friends!! - I finally could not resist myself. Had been watching and reading blogs for quite some time now. It looks today every tom-dick-harry has a blog. Interesting!! If I go back even 5 years back chronicales, common places of adda (gossips), diaries, perzines or amateur press associations or even a community club were the common place to communicate/participate and all can be seen as predecessors of blogs. Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms. I remember there were few commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists and bulletin board systems (BBS). I remember way back in 1995 I was part of the translation list in Japan and would get 100s of email a day created running conversations with "threads", though that was not too common. Today some have likened blogging to the mass-obervation movement of the mid-20th century.. the world has changed - from am information age to the participation age. Not sure if this is for good or not.. that I see people stuck in front of the computers communicating..participating.. dating... creating their own space in the world. Hmm!! so had to start myself and check what this was with a couple of objectives. First, share about topics related to business and software engineering. How this is developing in Japan. Second, drive the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) campaign for India in Japan and have the Indian diaspora in Japan engaged. So lets me see how effective the tool "Blogspot" could be.
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