NEW DELHI, July 25: India’s nuclear weapons are only for defence and will never be used in a first strike or against a non-nuclear state, the defence minister said ahead of a vote by US lawmakers on a landmark deal to share nuclear fuel and technology with New Delhi.
The US House of Representatives is to vote on Wednesday on the nuclear deal, signed last year by US President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The plan has already been endorsed by two crucial congressional panels.
“Our nuclear doctrine affirms that India will not resort to (a) first strike and never use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states,” Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a speech on Monday night in New Delhi. “India’s nuclear doctrine has a purely defensive orientation.”
The House of Representatives vote is part of a drawn-out legislative process to ratify the deal, which also has to be cleared by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an assembly of nations that export nuclear material.
Nuclear fuel is crucial to India. India says the deal with the United States will allow it to overcome its severe energy shortage by using nuclear power to fuel its booming economy, one of the fastest growing in the world.
The Bush administration argues it will create business and jobs for American companies and citizens.
In return for the nuclear fuel and technology, India has said it will separate its civilian and nuclear facilities and open up its civilian facilities to international inspections.—AP
