The 123 agreement is pathbreaking because it acknowledges implicitly (if not explicitly) this interrelationship. It accepts that India’s security depends more on the strength of its economy, society and the environment and the nature of the balance between them than on whether it has the ‘notional’ capability to deter a nuclear adversary. I say notional because there will be no victor in a nuclear exchange. It is pathbreaking because it contemporises the notion of sovereignty and national security.

Critics have pointed out that nuclear energy will only contribute 7 per cent of our energy requirements by 2020-25. So why, they ask, is the government risking so much for apparently so little? But the fact is the deal will throw open a broad spectrum of technological options that in time will make it easier for us to achieve energy security.

We must not forget three realities. One, the Indian economy is hugely dependent (about 70 per cent) on hydrocarbons — oil, gas and coal. And that this dependence will continue for the foreseeable future. Two, the linkage between economic growth, energy demand and environmental degradation has to weaken if we are to stabilise carbon emissions and safeguard against the worst consequence of global warming. And three, technology is the key to progress.

The 123 agreement should be supported not simply because it rewrites the paradigms on sovereignty and security but because it provides the springboard from which India can forge the crucial technological partnerships on which growth can be sustainably built. These partnerships could cover a broad spectrum of activities including medicine, agriculture, industry and services. And in energy in particular they could facilitate the “greening” of fossil fuels (coal to liquids, coal, gasification) and the development of practical, commercially viable and affordable alternatives to hydrocarbons, (hydrogen fuel cells, cellulosic bio fuels, thin film solar and nuclear).

... contd.