We don’t have luxury to limit energy options: PM

PM Manmohan Singh has said that nuclear technology is essential for meeting the national development goals.

Pitching for the Indo-US nuclear deal in a veiled manner, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the country does not have the ‘luxury’ of limiting options of energy and that nuclear technology was essential for meeting the national development goals and energy security.

“Our energy needs will continue to rise in the foreseeable future,” he said while inaugurating a conference ‘Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons’ in New Delhi.

Without referring to the Indo-US nuclear deal, which the government says, will expand India’s energy base, Singh said, “We do not have the luxury of limiting our options of energy sources.”

He said government is wishing to “create an international environment in which nuclear technology is used not for destructive purposes but for helping us meet our national development goals and our energy security.”

The government is pushing the nuclear deal with the US as it will open the country’s doors for cooperation with international community in the field, ending 34-year-old isolation.

The government’s efforts are, however, facing stiff resistance from Left allies who are opposed to operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Making it clear that India is in no arms race with anyone, Singh said the country, which has witnessed rapid economic growth in the last few years, and “is poised for even higher growth rates in the future, needs a peaceful international environment.”

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“We seek a world in which power flows through the empowerment of people, and from the strength and resilience of our economy, our society, our institutions and our values,” the Prime Minister said.

He said India is fully committed to nuclear disarmament that is ‘global, universal and non-discriminatory in nature’, a goal which will enhance ‘not only our security but the security of all other countries’.

Emphasising that India is fully aware of its responsibilities as a ‘nuclear weapon state’, Singh noted that the country has a declared doctrine of no-first-use ‘that is based on credible minimum deterrence”.

India, he pointed out, also has in place strict controls on export of nuclear and fissile-related materials and technology.