Scientific advisor to the Defence Minister A P J Kalam who is a key figure behind Pokhran-II said he and Atomic Energy Commission chairman R Chidambaram had reviewed the technical and scientific aspects of the post-test scenario. And had concluded, he said, that since no further underground tests were required, India could go ahead and sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

There is already a sense of expectation about Vajpayee's address at the UN, which will be a definitive statement on India's nuclear policy, in the light of the recent nuclear tests.

The international community is keenly watching what formulation India will unveil at the UNGA, following India's declaration of its commitment toobserve a unilateral moratorium on further tests.

Chidamabaram had in an interview over the weekend also emphasised that from the scientific point of view, considering the large volume of data collected from the Pokhran-II tests, India could proceed with the CTBT.

The endorsements given by Kalam and Chidambaram were aimed at reinforcing the position of the BJP government, battling a belligerent Congress and the Left parties who see a sell-out in acceding to the CTBT.

The renewed support from the scientific community appears designed to calm misconceptions of the consequences of abiding by the CTBT, as political parties accuse the government of caving in to Western pressure.

``Subscribing to the CTBT will not create difficulties for our nuclear status from the scientific and technical angle,'' Kalam told the media, adding that computer-simulated tests would be adequate for further development of India's nuclear weapon programme.

In the face of international censure that greeted India's nuclear tests,Vajpayee will have his work cut out for him at New York. In his address to the UNGA, in his one-to-one meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and numerous bilateral meetings with individual heads of government, the Prime Minister will elaborate on the country's security concerns, its untiring exertions at global disarmament and its decades-long efforts to overcome the technology blockade imposed by a inequitous international nuclear regime.

India's stand will also be predicated by the outcome of the ongoing fifth round of talks between the Prime Minister's special envoy Jaswant Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. With indicators pointing to Washington's acceptance of India's case for a minimum nuclear deterrent and that it is virtually impossible to roll-back India's nuclear programme, two major hurdles appear out of the way.

The United Nations will also serve as the venue for the resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue, with a meeting between Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpartNawaz Sharif to break the logjam which has held up substantial talks at the official level between the two countries for nearly a year.

But the luncheon meeting between the two is already shadowed by Pakistan once again harping on Kashmir being the ``core'' issue, which would need to be resolved before any progress can be made on any other front.

The two countries have identified eight outstanding issues which need to be resolved. These include the two immediate issues, namely peace, security and confidence building measures and Jammu and Kashmir, which would be dealt with at the Foreign Secretaries level.

In what is being viewed as a significant reassertion of growing Indo-French relations, Vajpayee is scheduled to stop in Paris on his way back from New York, his first visit to a P-5 country since India altered its nuclear status. According to officials the visit will underscore India's appreciation of the French position on India's nuclear tests. While the rest of the Western world bayed for India'sblood for crashing into their exclusive five-member nuclear domain, Paris had chosen to stand apart saying it understood India's compulsions.