Washington:
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously passed Barack Obama's resolution, calling on all countries to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a sort of global pact to get rid of nuclear weapons.
India says this doesn't change its stand. "There is no question of India joining the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. Nuclear weapons are an integral part of India's national security and will remain so, pending non-discriminatory and global nuclear disarmament. We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing."
Non-proliferation is expected to be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Obama in Washington in November.
India's policy has been that it supports non-proliferation in principle, but it will not sign the treaty because it's unfair. Countries like the United States, Russia, and China have atom bombs, but want to keep other countries from joining the 'nuclear league'. Countries that sign on have to agree to not pursue nuclear weapons.
But what exactly are India's nuclear abilities? Hours before Obama's resolution was unanimously passed at the United Nations, India's top atomic scientists, led by Anil Kakodkar, dismissed accusations that their nuclear tests in 1998 were a flop. Defence scientist K Santhanam has said that the hydrogen bomb was of low yield and did not accomplish India's goal.
India says this doesn't change its stand. "There is no question of India joining the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. Nuclear weapons are an integral part of India's national security and will remain so, pending non-discriminatory and global nuclear disarmament. We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing."
Non-proliferation is expected to be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Obama in Washington in November.
India's policy has been that it supports non-proliferation in principle, but it will not sign the treaty because it's unfair. Countries like the United States, Russia, and China have atom bombs, but want to keep other countries from joining the 'nuclear league'. Countries that sign on have to agree to not pursue nuclear weapons.
But what exactly are India's nuclear abilities? Hours before Obama's resolution was unanimously passed at the United Nations, India's top atomic scientists, led by Anil Kakodkar, dismissed accusations that their nuclear tests in 1998 were a flop. Defence scientist K Santhanam has said that the hydrogen bomb was of low yield and did not accomplish India's goal.
