The IAEA wants India to ratify the Convention on Supplementary Compensation CSC) which it had signed on October 27, 2010.

The Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will represent India at the IAEA Nuclear Security Ministerial level Conference at Vienna in July, this year.

“I visited Tarapur site and witnessed the serious efforts, enthusiasm by the operators, engineers to further improve, further enhance the level of safety. Mobile generators were added after Fukushima. The outside hookup to cool down the power plant in case of blackout was added, “ said the IAEA Director General Dr Yukiya Amano after meeting the Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mahai here on Wednesday.

This is Dr Amano’s second visit to India in a span of three years. This is first visit to India after the IAEA Board approved his second term as Director General earlier this month. His last visit to India was in January 2011, two months before the Fukushima disaster.

He met the National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

“India has longstanding constructive relations with the IAEA on safeguards implementation. After the conclusion of the India-Specific Safeguards Agreement in 2008, twelve nuclear power plant units and 7 other facilities have been offered for safeguards under the India Specific Safeguards Agreement. We are at an advanced stage of consultations with the Agency relating to our Additional Protocol and India will ratify once these discussions are concluded,” said the Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

Dr Amano visited Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Tarapore Nuclear Power Plant site before landing in Delhi.

He is impressed with India’s plans to use nuclear techniques in fight against cancer and its applications in agriculture, water management and water desalination.

“India is also a very important partner in nuclear security, nuclear security means to prevent fissile material and radio active material falling into the hands of terrorists and on the initiative of the Prime Minister you have established GC&P, “ he said.

According to Dr Amano post-Fukushima incident would not mean the end or decline in nuclear power generation. The latest conservative estimate by IAEA shows that by 2013, there would be minimum 23% increase of electricity production by using nuclear power. As per IAEA’s high estimate, there would be 100% increase - so double the present.

“As a major nuclear industry country with the capability to produce all items for a complete nuclear fuel cycle, India is committed to maintaining the highest export control standards. I am happy to announce that the national SCOMET list has been updated to be on par with the current NSG and MTCR lists. In some respects, our controls are more stringent than those practiced by the NSG and MTCR,” Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said.

“India has cooperated closely on nuclear security issues, including through the NSS, our Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnerships and Agency participation in the NSS Sherpa meeting and 1540 Workshop held in New Delhi last year,” he said.

As a like- minded country, India has demonstrated responsible non-proliferation and export control practices and has shown the ability and willingness to contribute substantially to global non-proliferation objectives and is engaged with the multilateral regimes with a view to joining these groups as a full member.

On Iran, Dr Amano said that it is a “very complicated” issue. Iran has a comprehensive agreement with IAEA and is subject to UN Security Council resolutions which are legally binding.

“Iran is not implementing UN Security Council resolutions and the part of the Safeguard Agreement, we cannot give assurance that everything is for peaceful purposes,” he said.

He suggested that dialogue process should continue with Iran.

On North Korea’s recent nuclear tests, Dr Amano said ; “I can say that it is deeply regrettable that North Korea conducted its third nuclear test. This is clearly against the UN Security Council resolution and it gives negative impact to the Northeast Asian region and beyond. North Korea has the obligation under the UN Security Council resolutions to discontinue the nuclear activities and abandon nuclear weapons. I sincerely hope that North Korea abides by and implements all the UN Security Council resolutions.”

He said that IAEA was prepared to play its role in denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.