WASHINGTON, July 15: As Washington prepares for the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a prominent Washington think-tank has urged the Bush administration not to rush into supplying civilian nuclear technology to New Delhi.

Stimson Center’s study, ‘Changing the Rules of Nuclear Commerce’, points out that when PM Singh meets President Bush on July 18, high on his agenda will be his desire to ‘breaking through the barriers on nuclear export controls that previous US administrations have spent decades erecting’.

Authors Michael Krepon and Ziad Haider argue that a relaxation of the international rules for nuclear commerce ‘could do more harm than good unless President Bush and Prime Minister Singh can implement good ideas to strengthen global norms against proliferation’.

They urge the two leaders to declare how they intend to ‘prevent a bad situation from becoming worse’ if the US resumes supplying nuclear technology to nations such as India who have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

According to them, one of the cardinal rules of nuclear non-proliferation has been an agreement among supplier nations not to engage in nuclear commerce with states that have not been granted the International Atomic Energy Agency’s seal of approval by accepting ‘full scope safeguards’ on all of their nuclear facilities.

Because India is not a party to the NPT and has not signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, New Delhi has no constraints on testing nuclear weapons and is free to pursue the production of fissile material for its nuclear stockpile. Eleven of India’s fifteen nuclear reactors are not safeguarded.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group was established in 1974 after New Delhi conducted a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’. It now consists of 45 nations that are committed not to contribute to proliferation by means of nuclear exports.

Some NSG members have helped construct civilian nuclear power plants in states that have troubling proliferation records, on the basis that NSG provisions allow for the completion of agreements and contracts entered into before these suppliers joined the club.