On the eve of the nuclear deal debate in Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has some good news. The Armed Forces have concluded that the legislation, passed by the US Congress, does not in any way hinder India’s strategic capability.

While the top services brass is still reading the fine print of the Henry J Hyde US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, internal discussions within the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Defence Ministry support the deal as they are convinced that India’s nuclear capability will not take a hit.

The military establishment believes that it is up to India’s political establishment to accept or reject the Henry Hyde Act as the US Congress and not Parliament has passed it.

After discussing the US legislation at the highest levels, the tri-service top brass expects Washington to take care of Indian concerns over the legislation in the bilateral 123 Agreement. The assessment of the military establishment is that Bush administration is as keen as the Manmohan Singh government on civilian nuclear trade and that the deal is a milestone in the already expanding Indo-US cooperation in high technology areas including defence.

In the internal discussion, the top brass argued that even at the height of Cold War, Russians were never allowed to set foot into any Indian defence establishment. So it is up to the government to decide the level of engagement with the Americans in the nuclear field. The military’s view, which is contrary to the Indian nuclear establishment, is understood to have been conveyed to the UPA government.

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