On Saturday, the the prime minister will honour his commitment to meet the scientists who had submitted a memorandum expressing concern about the Indo-US nuclear agreement. This is a welcome move. The scientists who had submitted the memo are among the best and brightest of the Indian nuclear science and engineering field who, along with the pioneers of Indian nuclear science, had built the infrastructure that exists today as one of the bright achievements of Indian science.

Long before the July 18, 2005 statement in which the US recognised India as a “responsible state with advanced nuclear technology”, India had been designated a member of the IAEA Board of Governors since the latter’s inception for being one of the “10 members most advanced in technology of atomic energy”, a distinction made possible only because of the dedication of many of these scientists, and their mentors at the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). It is, therefore, only natural that the Prime Minister would want to assure them that their legitimate concerns would be addressed properly.

One, for example, would be the right to reprocess spent fuel obtained from the use of either imported fuel or imported nuclear facilities. There is no doubt that the refusal of the US either to take back the spent fuel from Tarapur or give India the right to reprocess it had placed enormous strain on the resources of the Indian nuclear establishment for the safe storage of an ever increasing stocky of hazardous material. It is absolutely necessary that India is not placed in a similar situation because of any new agreement on nuclear cooperation. Any agreement that India has with a foreign supplier must be predicated on the right of India to either reprocess - or use the reprocessed fuel from - the spent fuel for its own civil nuclear program. Without such rights the benefits of such imports will be a very restricted one with no lasting contribution to the growth of nuclear energy in India.

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