Just three hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh officially kick-started Indias annual bilateral summit with his Japanese counterpart today,he told a packed audience of Japanese and Indian business leaders that he would not force the civil nuclear issue with Prime Minister Naoto Kan. This has put a dampener on the business interests of Japanese majors such as Mitsubishi and Hitachi that stand to benefit from the agreement. Replying to a query by a senior executive from Mitsubishi at a business luncheon hosted by Nippon Keidanren,the leading business association here,Manmohan Singh said,We would hope that Japan will be Indias partner in the expansion of its civil nuclear industry for peaceful purposes. But I do recognise the sensitivity of the subject in Japan. I,therefore,will not force the issue on you. The Mitsubishi executive had sought to know how Japan-India relations will move forward after the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) between the two countries is concluded. India,that commenced talks with Japan on the proposed agreement for peaceful uses of nuclear energy in June this year,has so far held two rounds of meetings,the second in mid-October. Two rounds of negotiations have been held,but some more rounds are required," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had said in New Delhi,underscoring expectations about inking a civil nuclear deal between India and Japan during the Prime Ministers summit discussions with Kan. Sources in the Indian side tried to play down the PMs remarks,saying,it was more of "optics". Pointing out that expectations were not really high,they claimed Prime Minister Singhs impromptu reply hours before his meeting with Kan was likely deliberate. He couldnt have found a better platform with so many business leaders from Japan. It perhaps will serve as a reality-check for Japan that has been trying to extract additional commitments from India. This is unacceptable to us. We would rather talk to Japan in the pace it sets, a government source told 'The Indian Express'. Earlier,in his address,the Prime Minister sought Japans assistance in providing technology and know-how to build civil nuclear power plants in India. He pointed out that the demand for energy in India has been rising rapidly with rapid economic growth. Japan,as a global leader in energy efficient technologies,can play a significant role in helping us meet Indias energy needs in an environmentally friendly manner, he said. With a peak power deficit of 12-14 per cent,India is keen on scaling up its civil nuclear capabilities to supplement power capacities that are predominantly thermal today. Nuclear energy can provide our growing economy with a clean and efficient source of power, Singh said. It was Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada who in June this year first made public Tokyos readiness to start discussions with India on a cooperation agreement for civil nuclear energy. India has in the last year or so inked such pacts with a host of countries including the France,Russia,United Kingdom,Canada,Namibia,Mongolia and Argentina. But Tokyo has been demanding that New Delhi sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) before the two countries sign a civil nuclear deal. Singh reiterated Indias position on NPT and CTBT in an interview to Japanese media that was released to the Indian media on Sunday. India has an impeccable non-proliferation record which has been recognised by the international community. We are committed to maintaining our unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing. India has been steadfast in its support for global and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament in a time-bound framework. We are ready to work with Japan and other like-minded countries in realizing the vision of a nuclear weapon free world, he said.