We want unconditional exemption from NSG: India

The NSG8217;s special meeting is scheduled for August 21.

8220;NSG guidelines require comprehensive safeguards applicable only to NPT countries and since India has both civil and military programmes, we have a unique position. Therefore, such comprehensive safeguards are not relevant to India. Hence, clean exemption from that is what we are seeking,8221; Kakodkar said.

8220;They should exempt India from the requirement of comprehensive safeguards and add no other conditions,8221; he added.

8220;Conditions will only take away from one hand what has been given from the other consensus at the IAEA on India-specific safeguards agreement on August 1,8221; he said.

Earlier on July 23, US Ambassador to India David C Mulford was emphatic about the proposed clean waiver for India at the NSG but was not ready to accept the usage of the word 8216;unconditional8217;.

Last week, India took objection to the draft note sent by the United States to India before finalising it to circulate among 45 members of NSG this week. The exact contents of this draft note were not known.

But some Indian bureaucrats said that the United States has been saying for some months now that the NSG waiver could include 8216;reasonable conditionalities8217; as the Europeans were insisting on these.

Meanwhile, the European Union has supported India-specific safeguards agreement between India and the IAEA.