India ends nuclear outcast status with French atomic deal

PARIS (AFP) - India, critically short of energy to fuel its booming economy, on Tuesday shed its nuclear outcast status when it signed a landmark atomic energy pact with France.

The deal effectively ended a ban on countries selling civilian nuclear technology and equipment to New Delhi, which was imposed in 1974 when India used its civilian programme to produce and successfully test an atomic bomb.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in Paris after a week-long trip to the US where he saw the House of Representatives back a US atomic pact with India, signed the deal with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

France, the world's second producer of nuclear energy after the United States, hopes to lead a worldwide revival of the industry fuelled by worries about global warming and soaring energy prices.

India is now allowed to go shopping for technology and nuclear reactors after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted its ban on New Delhi in early September after hard lobbying by Washington.

Singh and Sarkozy made no public comment after signing the nuclear deal, but a French presidential advisor noted that "today we are at the intergovernmental stage, and after that the industrialists will begin their cooperation."

French state-backed nuclear giant Areva said Monday it hoped to negotiate the delivery to India of two reactors as well as nuclear fuel.

India, which currently has 22 nuclear reactors, has a nuclear market estimated at 100 billion euros (142 billion dollars) over 15 years.

The French anti-nuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire (End Nuclear Power) denounced the atomic agreement.

"For having helped the US and India get round the rules of non-proliferation, France will be able to sell nuclear reactors to India. These are nauseating deals that endanger the future of the planet," it said.

India was banned from nuclear trade after it built an atomic bomb it hoped would give it military dominance over its neighbour and rival Pakistan, which also went on to build its own bomb despite international protest.

New Delhi, long a Soviet ally, is now a strategic partner for both the European Union and the US and is seen as a relative haven of stability in an often volatile region that includes Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A country of 1.1 billion people that many see as one of the future great powers of the 21st century, India currently gets only a fraction of its electricity from nuclear power.

Observers say that more nuclear plants in India could help reduce global demand for oil and gas, and proponents of nuclear energy say it will help the emerging economic giant fight pollution.

Sarkozy said Monday at an EU-India summit that he did not see how "India can fight global warming without nuclear energy, which is a clean energy. That would be totally incoherent."

The United States is also keen to tap into the Indian nuclear market, but with Tuesday's deal France, which will also have to compete with Japan and Russia, has stolen a march on the US.

The French presidential advisor, who asked not to be named, insisted however that the two countries had worked together to persuade the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the IAEA, the UN's atomic watchdog, to lift the ban on New Delhi.

"There was no race" to be first to sign a deal, he said.

The US atomic trade pact with India, a key foreign policy for President George W. Bush, must now win approval from the Senate.

But that could be delayed because of the presidential election in November, further delaying the US entry into the market.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she hoped the nuclear pact with India would soon pass the final US legislative hurdle, saying it would "solidify" US-Indian ties.

Some US lawmakers have fought against the deal, which would give New Delhi access to US technology provided it allows UN inspections of some of its nuclear facilities -- but not its atomic weapons plants.

They argue it rewards India for breaking the international nuclear rules and thus might encourage Iran, which is accused of using its civilian nuclear programme to build a bomb.

Critics of the potential US deal with India -- which has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty allowing civilian nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons -- say it undermines efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons

Russian Defence Minister to visit India to negotiate deals

Russian Defence Minister to visit India to negotiate deals
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi September 26, 2008, 12:40 IST

In an effort to further military relations with India, Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will be here on a three-day visit to attend an inter-governmental commission of the two countries and to negotiate key deals with New Delhi.

Among the issues Serdyukov will discuss with his Indian counterpart, A K Antony, are the renewed price negotiations for the $1.5 billion Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, plans for developing a joint fifth generation fighter aircraft and medium transport aircraft, and T-90 tanks technology transfer, Defence Ministry sources said today.

He is likely to resolve the price issue of Gorshkov, which is currently undergoing a refit at the Sevmash Shipyard in Russia, during his talks with Antony.

Russians have been demanding an additional $1.2 billion for the refit of the aircraft carrier.

Asked about the negotiations on Wednesday, Antony had said the details of the negotiations would be known after the meeting with his Russian counterpart.

Serdyukov will arrive at the Palam technical area by a special flight at 18.10 hours on Sunday.

After lay a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyothi at India Gate on Monday morning, he would be presented a Guard of Honour at South Block by the Indian armed forces.

After a half-hour-long meeting with Antony at his office, the Russian Defence Minister will co-chair the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Military and Technical Commission, an unique arrangement that New Delhi has only with Moscow, along with the former at DRDO Bhawan Auditorium, sources said.

AWACS delay throws IAF network-centricity plans awry

New Delhi, Sept 28: The Indian Air Force's (IAF) plans to go network-centric has gone haywire as the Israeli airborne early warning systems delivery gets delayed further.

The PHALCON Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) will arrive only in February next year, about 15 months behind its original schedule of November 2007.

Consequently, the IAF efforts to establish an advanced Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS) through the Air Force Net (AF Net) communication network would be hit.

"AF Net, may be (delayed by) a month or two. We were expecting it around December. Now it is coming around February," IAF chief Fali Homi Major said on Sunday.

"Two months is no delay as far as we are concerned," Major added, suggesting the IAF would strive to offset the delay from their side.

Meanwhile, IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal P V Naik, referring to the escalation in delivery schedule of AWACS till February 2009, said some technical glitches were the reasons behind the delay.

AWACS, a major force multiplier for the IAF, is a vital link in the Air Force Net, a communication network that is key to IAF's dreams of emerging as a network-centric force.

The USD 1.1-billion deal was signed by India in March 2004 for three AWACS from Israeli Aerospace Industries for mounting the systems on three Russian-made IL-76 heavy lift transport aircraft.

IAF's Agra air base is readying itself to receive the AWACS by improving its infrastructure, including extending the runway, establishing an avionics lab and integrating ground systems for future operations of the radar-mounted IL-76s aircraft.

IAF to procure MI-17 V5 choppers from Russia

Chandigarh, Sept 25: The Indian Air Force is likely to add MI-17 V5 medium lift helicopters in its fleet as negotiations to procure them from Russia are in final stages, a senior IAF official said on Thursday.

"Our negotiations are in the final stages with Russia. In the next three months, we will sign a contract with them. After two-three years of signing of the contract, we will start the procurement of these helicopters," Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, Air Marshal Gautam Nayyar told reporters here.

These would replace MI-8 helicopters, which have outlived their life, he said, adding once these machines are procured, they will help tide over the problems faced by helicopters in high altitudes of Siachin and Ladhak.

He said the MI-17V5 will have modern avionic equipment and their engine performance will be better than the existing helicopters.

"They will be very effective in the high altitude areas. MI-17V5 will gradually replace the MI-8 helicopters of IAF," he said, adding at present "we have 50 MI-8 and their estimated life span is 35 years. However, they all are 38 years old and we will replace them with 80 MI-17V5."

To a question, he said in India there are 13 Base Repair Depots (BRDs) that look after the maintenance of air crafts and other related equipment and Rs 500 crore would be pumped in over the next few years for their upgradation and modernisation.

To another question, Nayyar admitted that IAF was not getting enough quality engineers as IIT graduates are not forthcoming. But he hoped that with the implementation of the sixth pay commission, things would change and graduates from premier institutions would choose IAF as a career.

He also said that the IAF was also planning to open a Rs-200 crore world class engineering college in Bangalore.

Navy seeks six more diesel submarines after Scorpene

New Delhi, Sept 26 (PTI) India has initiated the process of acquiring six more submarines on the lines of the under-construction Scorpenes to augment its underwater warfare capabilities.
"The Navy has initiated the process of acquisition of six more diesel-electric submarines and has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to major manufacturers across the globe," top Defence Ministry sources told PTI today.

"The Defence Ministry will now await responses from these companies and will follow it up with global tenders or Request for Proposals (RFP) next year," they said.

In all, Navy plans to procure 30 new submarines to have formidable underwater fighting capabilities.

India already has 16 submarines of the Russian Kilo and German HDW Shishumar Class.

Among the countries from where India is seeking information are France, Russia and Italy, all with major submarine manufacturing capabilities.

The new submarines would be procured as a follow-on of the six Scorpene submarines being built at the Defence Public Sector Undertaking shipyard, Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL), in Mumbai.

"The additional six submarines will start joining the Indian Navy fleet after all the first set of six Scorpenes have joined the naval fleet," the sources said. PTI

Lakshya test flown successfully

BALASORE (ORISSA): Lakshya, the micro-light pilotless target aircraft (PTA), developed indigenously in India, was on Thursday successfully test flown to check the validity of its engine and duration enhancement, defence sources said.

Fitted with an advanced digitally controlled engine, Lakshya was test flown at about 12.15 pm from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here.

Usually the flight duration of the six feet microlight aircraft is 30-35 minutes.

Lakshya, a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system, is remote controlled from the ground and designed to train both airborne and air defence pilots.

The PTA has been developed by India's Aeronautic Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore for aerial reconnaissance of battle field and target acquisition.

Lakshya has been inducted in the Indian Air Force in 2000.

India open for $80 billion in nuclear business

MUMBAI, India - Indian nuclear energy officials say they would like to do business with GE and other U.S. firms. But if they can't, there's always France and Russia.

Even as a landmark U.S.-India nuclear accord hangs in limbo in the U.S. Congress, the global gates of nuclear trade with India are now open.

Whether or not U.S. companies get the go-ahead to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India, the country's nuclear officials are confident they will get their uranium.

"If a deal with Congress doesn't happen, we will have business with other countries. So simple," said SK Malhotra, a spokesman for India's Department of Atomic Energy.

India reached nuclear trade agreements with Russia and France in January, though the government has held out on implementing them until a U.S. deal goes forward, said Shreyans Kumar Jain, chairman of India's state-run Nuclear Power Corp. Ltd., which runs all 17 of the nation's nuclear reactors.

The agreement before Congress would overturn three decades of U.S. policy by allowing nuclear trade with India, even though India has not signed a global treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons.

The deal enjoys broad support among leaders of both American political parties but, with other priorities on lawmakers' plates, there's no certainty it will get the nod before Congress adjourns this month ahead of November elections.

What would happen then is unclear.

Meeting Thursday in Washington, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush expressed hope that Congress will approve the agreement.

Singh was to go on to France, where he was expected to ink India's nuclear agreement with that country.

American companies worry they could be shut out of the Indian market. General Electric Co. helped build India's first nuclear reactor in the 1960s, and GE would love to rekindle that relationship.

"It's a $30 billion-plus market in India. There's a huge opportunity for a company like GE," said Kishore Jayaraman, regional head of GE operations in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. "We have been pushing for it."

Today, India gets just 3 percent of its energy_about 4,100 megawatts_ from nuclear power. By 2032 the government plans to quadruple total generating capacity, to 700 gigawatts, with nuclear accounting for 63,000 megawatts.

That adds up to about 40 new nuclear reactors, worth some $80 billion, according to Jain.

A key limiting factor on India's nuclear expansion has been access to uranium. Despite an aggressive hunt in basins, thrusts, and folds across the country, known domestic deposits will support only 10,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity.

"All reactors are going to be sourced from foreign vendors and tied to fuel supply agreements," Jain said.

Previously, India was largely unable to buy nuclear fuel and technology from abroad, because of its refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and its testing of atomic weapons.

On Sept. 6, under heavy lobbying by the United States, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group made a historic exception for India. That opens the door for nuclear sales to India — but, in the U.S. case, Congress must approve.

Jain says Nuclear Power Corp. hopes to finalize contracts with GE, Westinghouse Electric Co., France's Areva group, and Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corp. to build a first round of eight reactors starting in 2009.

The government, he added, plans to take a 30 percent equity stake in the new reactors, and borrow to raise the rest.

Rosatom is already helping India build two nuclear reactors, under an agreement that predates Russia joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Areva has been active in pursuing business, with CEO Anne Lauvergeon joining French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his January state visit, according to three Indian officials.

If the deal doesn't go through Congress, said Ron Somers, president of U.S.-India Business Council, "we'll be the only one shut out."

"It's like sitting on our hands watching a football game, not being able to play," he added.

GE has been in close talks with the Indian government, Jayaraman said, but the company cannot, by law, enter into advanced discussions absent a green light from Congress.

"We have not had any detailed discussions," he said.

A lot of Indian companies are also hopeful.

Currently, private companies cannot operate nuclear reactors, but India is separating its civilian and military nuclear programs as part of the U.S.-India nuclear deal. That could pave the way for deeper private sector involvement on the civilian side, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a top official in India's Planning Commission, said in a recent interview.

Jain, of the Nuclear Power Corp., said a raft of companies, including the Tata Group, Reliance Power Ltd., GMR Infrastructure Ltd., GVK Industries Ltd., the Essar Group, and the state-run National Thermal Power Corp. have expressed interest in running nuclear power plants in the future.

Parts suppliers and builders, like Hindustan Construction Co., Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Larsen &Toubro Ltd., Gammon India Ltd. and Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. could also benefit from India's nuclear build-out.

Deepak Morada, a spokesman for Larsen & Toubro, India's largest builder, said he thinks the capital and manufacturing requirements needed to help 400 million Indians who now live by candlelight switch on the lights, are simply too massive for the government to handle alone.

"We are ready to participate," he said.

Indo-US air force transport exercise at Agra next year

New Delhi (PTI): Ramping up the forward-moving interaction between their airforces, India and the US will hold a high-level joint exercise of their transport aircraft and helicopter fleet at Agra in the first half of next year.

"The 2009 exercise will include both the transport aircraft and helicopters, and will concentrate more on logistics and air maintenance manoeuvre," a top Indian Air force (IAF) officer told PTI here on Monday.

The Agra exercise will witness the USAF's Chinooks and Bell helicopters and the C-130J Hercules multi-role transport aircraft vying with the IAF's workhorses An-32 mediumlift, IL-76 heavylift aircraft and its transport choppers Mi-17 and Mi-26.

Incidentally, Chinook is a competitor for the IAF's heavylift helicopter tenders, where airforce is looking to procure 12 heavylift choppers.

Bell choppers have also received the Request for Proposals from India for the IAF and Army requirement for 197 light utility helicopters.

India has already bought six of the C-130J Hercules for its special forces and a follow-on order of another six Hercules is in the pipeline. Delivery of the C-130J will begin in 2010, according to IAF sources.

Just about a week ago, the IAF's Su-30 MKIs multirole air superiority aircraft returned from US after participating in the world's most advanced 'Red Flag' air wargame.

India and the US air forces have earlier exercised twice in 2004 at Gwalior (in Madhya Pradesh) and Alaska (in US), and once in 2005 at Kalaikunda in West Bengal, all of which have been fighter fleet exercises.

DRDO to make missiles lighter, cost-effective

Hyderabad, Sept. 24 With an intention to make the country’s missiles lighter, cost-effective and possess greater hit power, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is augmenting its composite materials facilities and capabilities.

An independent centre for composite testing and evaluation is being set up at the Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), the premier lab guiding the long range missile — Agni programme and providing key technology inputs to other missiles.

ASL already has composites production centre (Comproc), which fabricates the lightweight material for Agni and other missiles. “In 6-7 years, we want to make all the stages of the Agni missile composite structured,” said Mr Avinash Chander, Director of the Laboratory under DRDO.

“At present, the payload and a small portion (nose tip) of Agni is made of composites, while the rest is metallic. Progressively, we will make the airframe, the upper stages and payload completely composite,” he told Business Line. There is lot of interest from the private sector in the composites arena and no dearth of raw materials, he added. Composite material, which can withstand very high temperatures and are robust, finds application in aerospace, the light combat aircraft and satellites.

The ASL provides composites and solid propulsion systems to most missiles such as Prithvi, Akash, Nag and Astra, Mr Chander said.Another initiative taken up by ASL is in the area of non-destructive evaluation of materials. This would help in assessing the health of the missile systems and components.
Cost-effective

Since we cannot bring these back from the field, the testing done through NDE tools and methods on site would make it cost-effective, he added.

These techniques are useful in detecting degradation of materials, cracks or other minor defects, which can reduce the life of the missile or make it ineffective.

Typically, ultrasound and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques are used. Asked about Agni-3, the long-range, surface to surface missile, Mr Chander said it has been cleared for induction into the Defence forces.

“We will do user trials when required, but it is ready for manufacture and induction,” he said. The missile was tested thrice between July 2006 to May 2008, with the first being a failure.

On Agni-V, he said the development is progressing.

“We can test it in two to two and half years. Two out of three stages will be composite, which will reduce its weight and increase range,” he added.

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Indian Air Force PHALCON AWACS to be Delivered by Jan-Feb 2009

Defence ministry sources said the first of the three Awacs, initially slated to be delivered in November 2007 under the $1.1-billion deal signed in March 2004, will now land in India by January-February 2009.

In the huge project, three Phalcon early-warning radars are being mounted on Russian heavy-lift IL-76 military aircraft under a tripartite agreement among India, Israel and Russia. "There have been technical hitches in the integration work. But we are pushing the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to deliver the first Awacs before the end of this year," said a source.

Technical glitches are not the only problem with the project. As reported by TOI earlier, there are allegations of kickbacks swirling around the deal, with reports holding India has been steeply overcharged for the Awacs. The government, however, has not given much credence to such reports, even though CBI is already investigating kickbacks in the original Rs 1,160-crore Israeli Barak-I anti-missile defence system contract, in which former defence minister George Fernandes, arms dealer Suresh Nanda and others have been named as the accused. This, of course, does not detract from the fact that IAF desperately needs the Phalcon Awacs, much like the Barak system was a crucial requirement for Navy.

Awacs, or "eyes in the sky", will help IAF detect incoming hostile cruise missiles and aircraft much before ground-based radars, apart from directing air defence fighters during combat operations with enemy jets. For instance, an Awacs flying over Amritsar will be able to detect a Pakistani F-16 fighter as soon as it takes off from its Sargodha airbase. India, incidentally, signed a $210-million deal with Brazilian firm Embraer for three aircraft in July for its own indigenous miniature Awacs project.

The indigenous AEW&C systems being developed by DRDO will be mounted on the three Embraer-145 jets, with the delivery of the first one slated for 2011-2012. The project is worth around Rs 1,800 crore. India, incidentally, is also on course to acquire four more Israeli Aerostat radars, at a cost of around $300 million, to bolster its ability to detect hostile low-flying aircraft, helicopters, spy drones and missiles.

The IAF's case for the new Aerostat radars as a "follow-on" order to the two such EL/M-2083 radars, inducted from Israel in 2004-2005 for $145 million, has finally been cleared by the Defence Acquisitions Council, headed by defence minister A K Antony, now.

After being in a limbo for some time due to the Barak kickbacks case, the defence ministry has decided to go full steam ahead with procurements and projects with Israel, which has notched up arms sales worth around $8 billion to India since the 1999 Kargil conflict. The ministry will, however, take a final clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security and the "competent financial authority" before the new procurement deals are actually inked.

$200 m sought for Gorshkov overhaul

Moscow wants New Delhi to immediately pay $200 million to cash-strapped Sevmash shipyard in order to speed up the upgrade of Admiral Gorshkov even though the final price negotiations of the ship are expected to be completed during Russian Defence Minister A Serdyukov’s visit to Delhi later this month.

Government sources said that after New Delhi expressed concern over the slow progress in overhauling Gorshkov (to be called INS Vikramaditya) at the Sevmash shipyard in North Sea, Russian asked South Block to immediately put in money without prejudice to the on-going price negotiations. Moscow had raised demand for an additional $1.2 billion after the two sides signed an agreement on $750 million for the aircraft carrier.

As the aircraft carrier is now expected to be inducted only by 2012 (August 15, 2008 was the original date), the issue will be taken up by the Indian side at the 8th Inter-Government Meeting on Military Technical Cooperation on September 28-29. During Serdyukov’s trip, the Indian side will mount pressure on its Russian counterpart to scale down the $1.2 billion demand.

Official sources said that South Block was even considering holding trials of the refitted Admiral Gorshkov and handle some technical work so that the additional costs could be cut down by nearly 50 per cent. However, the Indian Navy is totally opposed to this idea, as New Delhi would end up getting the blame from Russians if any system or armament malfunctions during the trials. The Navy wants only the

India suggests Pakistani hand in New Delhi blasts

NEW DELHI - India's defense minister suggested Monday that archrival Pakistan may have aided the people responsible for a series of explosions in the capital over the weekend that killed 21 people.

"Militants are getting support from across the border and it is a fact," Defense Minister A.K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi, responding to a question about possible Pakistani involvement in the blasts. "It is a matter of serious concern."

India has routinely accused Pakistan of aiding groups believed to be behind dozens of attacks in India in the last three years. New Delhi also accused Pakistani intelligence agents of involvement in a suicide bombing at the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, but has offered little proof to back up those charges.

Pakistan has denied the accusations and issued a strong statement condemning the New Delhi attacks.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq declined to comment Monday, saying he had not seen a full report of Antony's comments.

At least five explosions struck a park and crowded shopping areas in New Delhi on Saturday, killing 21 people and wounding about 100 others.

A group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks and for bombings in the western city of Jaipur in May that killed 61 people and July blasts in the western state of Gujarat that killed at least 45.

Police believe the group is a front for the Students' Islamic Movement of India, or SIMI, which was banned in 2001.

On Monday, the Anti-Terror Squad in Mumbai said it was searching for a suspected SIMI activist, identified by just one name, Tauqeer, who is believed to have sent e-mails claiming responsibility for Saturday's attacks.

Tauqeer, a former employee of a software company, went missing in 2001, apparently joining SIMI and going underground, said Hemant Karkare, head of the Anti-Terror Squad.

Police believe someone hacked into wireless networks in Mumbai to send e-mails shortly before the New Delhi and Gujarat blasts.

The government has blamed SIMI for a wave of bomb attacks that have rocked India in the last three years, killing hundreds, saying SIMI activists were working together with foreign Islamic groups.

Several alleged SIMI activists have been rounded up in recent months, but police have made little apparent headway in finding those behind the attacks.

Also Monday, a team of police officers from New Delhi headed to Gujarat to investigate similarities between the two attacks.

Police also evacuated a 12-story building near the site of one of the New Delhi blasts after receiving a warning there was a bomb inside.

Police searched the building with sniffer dogs before they announced an all-clear.

India, a largely Hindu country, has long battled Muslim separatist violence in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state. It was not clear whether the Indian Mujahideen or SIMI are tied to the Kashmiri groups.

On Monday, one of the main Kashmiri militant groups, the Pakistani-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, denied any connection to the Indian Mujahideen or the attacks.

"Lashkar-e-Tayyaba is not even remotely linked to what is said to be the Indian Mujahideen," the Rising Kashmir newspaper quoted the group's spokesman, Abdullah Ghaznavi, as saying.

"Government of India has always tried to tarnish the image of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba by linking the organization to everything that happens in India," Ghaznavi said.

On Monday, two Indian soldiers and two policemen were killed in a clash with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

A combined force of police and soldiers was searching for the militants in the Poonch district, near the heavily fortified de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani portions of the divided Himalayan region, when they came under fire, said deputy inspector general of police Kamal Saini.

The fighting began late Sunday and was still continuing Monday afternoon, he said.

Bombings hit New Delhi, killing 10, injuring 61

NEW DELHI - A coordinated series of bombings struck crowded shopping areas across India's capital Saturday evening, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, officials said. A Muslim extremist group claimed responsibility for the explosions.

A number of Indian media outlets received an e-mail sent just before the explosions warning that India was about to receive "the Message of Death."

"In the name of Allah, Indian Mujahideen strikes back once more. ... Do whatever you can. Stop us if you can," the message said.

The Indian Mujahideen was unknown before May, when it claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in the western city of Jaipur that killed 61 people. The group also said it was responsible for July blasts in the western state of Gujarat that killed at least 45.

Mayor Arti Mehra said as many as seven explosions went off across New Delhi, starting just before sundown. Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal said at least 10 people had been killed.

"It's a very cowardly act of violence," Mehra told reporters near the scene of two of the explosions, in the M-Block market of the upscale Greater Kailash neighborhood. "They want to break the spirit of Delhi. They have tried this in other places before and they have not succeeded and they will not succeed here. They will not scare us."

All of the bombs appeared to have gone off at, or very near, crowded shopping areas in scattered around the city.

An unexploded bomb was found near India Gate, the central colonial-era memorial that is one of the country's best-known symbols, Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Kashyap was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

Two of the explosions in New Delhi occurred just 300 yards apart in Connaught Place, the central shopping district. The usually crowded streets quickly emptied of shoppers and filled with screaming police cars, fire engines and ambulances.

One bomb went off by a subway station entrance on a major road, and a police officer at the scene said it appeared to have been left inside a sidewalk garbage bin. He declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The sidewalk was covered with garbage broken glass and a small pool of blood.

Raju Chohan was walking through the area with a friend when he heard "a deafening sound and there was some sort of smell in the air."

In the minutes after the blast, the scene was filled with blood and chaos as police officers raced to the scene and passers-by helped victims into taxis and rickshaws to get to hospitals. A Hindu holy man clad in orange robes lay face down in the gutter a few feet away, apparently dead. Another man, his faced bloodied, walked away from the scene, helped along by others.

A second bombing in Connaught Place occurred in a park filled with families and young people relaxing on the grass.

"Everyone was running every way. They heard the bomb and they just started running," said Raj Kumar, 30, a store clerk in the area.

Wave of blasts hits Delhi markets

Five bombs have ripped through busy markets in India's capital, Delhi, within minutes of each other, killing at least 18 people, police say.

The explosions, which also injured about 80 people, are not thought to have been very powerful but happened in areas crowded with evening shoppers.

Crude explosives have been detonated in several Indian cities recently.

More than 400 people have died since October 2005 in attacks on Ahmedabad, Bangalore and other cities.

India has blamed Islamist militant groups for these previous bombings.


I came running down and I saw at least four to five people lying on the road
Sanjeev Gole
eyewitness

In pictures: Delhi blasts

CNN-IBN, a local TV news channel, said it had received an e-mail before the blasts from a group calling itself the "Indian Mujahideen".

"Do whatever you can. Stop us if you can," the e-mail reportedly said.

The same group has claimed responsibility for two other recent bombing attacks.

Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, "strongly condemned" the bomb attacks, expressing "shock and grief over the loss of precious human lives".

His Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, said the bombers were "enemies of humanity".

Chaotic scenes

Two of the latest blasts in Delhi are believed to have happened metres away from each other in the central shopping district of Connaught Place.

BBC map

Another blast took place in a market in the Greater Kailash area in south Delhi.

A BBC producer who visited the scene said a low-intensity explosion had scattered glass over a large area, near a popular cafe.

Two of the other explosions were reported in Delhi's Karol Bagh area and on the Barakhamba Road.

Chanchal Kumar helped carry several casualties to ambulances after witnessing one of the explosions, outside a metro station.

"Around 1830 we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running all over the place," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

"There were about 100-200 people around this place."

Another eyewitness, Sanjeev Gole, heard a "huge blast":

"I was around the corner from the road. I came running down and I saw at least four to five people lying on the road."

Television pictures show scenes of chaos at the blast scenes. Crowds milled around mangled vehicles, with debris and blood scattered across the streets.

Earlier attacks

An unexploded bomb was reportedly found and defused at the capital's India Gate monument, local TV quoted police as saying.

After the bombings in Jaipur and Bangalore, a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen also claimed responsibility.

While it is too early to say exactly what caused Saturday's blasts in Delhi, they appear similar to the earlier attacks.

The earlier attacks involved multiple small devices hidden in small boxes or bags and aimed at soft targets such as crowded markets, analysts say.

The devices contained shrapnel such as nuts, bolt and ball bearings while the explosives used were improvised. Islamic militants in Kashmir have tended to use military-grade explosives.

This missile will go beyond visual range

BALASORE: Defence scientists are planning to conduct a series of tests of indigenously developed India’s first beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile ‘Astra’.

The decision comes days after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) gave a clean waiver to India to carry out nuclear commerce. A source in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, 15 km from here, said the test would be conducted between September 11 and 20.

‘‘The scientists have planned to carry out two or three tests of ‘Astra.’ The missile would be launched from complex II of the ITR,’’ the source said.

‘If weather permits and everything goes as planned, the first attempt may be made on Thursday. Or else, the tests will be conducted on September 13 and 17 for which range integration has already been completed,’ it added.

‘Astra’ missile, a part of India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The aim is to equip the Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Su-30 MKI and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) with an indigenously-designed beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).

The missile, which has strike range of 25 to 40 km, uses a terminal active radar-seeker and a mid-course internal guidance system with updates to track targets. The on-board capability allows it to jam radar signals from an enemy’s surface-to-air battery, ensuring that the missile is not tracked or shot down.

‘The 3.6-metre long missile has a launch weight of about 154 kg and uses solid-fuel propellant and a 15 kg high-explosive warhead, activated by a proximity fuse. The missile has a maximum speed of 2.2 Mach and a maximum altitude of 20 km,’ said a scientist.

‘Although designed to use a locally-developed solid fuel propellant, DRDO is reportedly looking at rocket/ramjet propulsion to provide greater range and enhanced kinematics performance,’ he said.

Being extremely complex, only a few countries like the US, Russia, France and Israel have managed to develop BVR missiles.

Once operational, the ‘Astra’ will be cheaper and advanced, capable of destroying highly-manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets, the scientist added

Indian Navy issues tender for 16 advanced, multi-role helicopters

The Indian Navy has issued a tender for 16 advanced, multi-role naval helicopters to companies including AgustaWestland, EADS and Sikorsky. According to reports, this initial order may likely expand by another 44 units into a full order of 60 such helos.

According to defence ministry sources, the new helos will be equipped with anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare equipment, including cruise missiles and torpedoes and will also be capable of being re-fuelled in flight.

The helos will be ship-borne and land-based, they said.

The navy also plans to acquire five more Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters and is exploring the possibility of conducting mid-life upgrades on its Ka-28 and Westland Sea King transport helicopters.

India tests air-to-air missile

BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) - India on Saturday carried out a successful test of a homemade air-to-air missile designed for its air force, defence sources said.

The Astra -- Hindi for weapon -- was fired from India's Integrated Testing Range at Chandipur-on-Sea, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of Orissa's state capital Bhubaneswar.

The single-stage solid-fuel missile can carry a 15 kilogramme (33 lbs) conventional warhead.

"Astra belongs to the beyond-visual range class of missiles capable of ducking radar eyes and attacking enemy targets up to 80 kilometres," a defence official said on condition of anonymity.

India routinely conducts missile tests and has built a range of ballistic and cruise missiles as a deterrent to neighbours China and Pakistan.

It has fought three wars with Pakistan since their 1947 independence as well as a brief but bitter border war with China in 1962.

Scientists beaming after test of big atom smasher

GENEVA - A small blip on a computer screen sent champagne corks popping among physicists in Switzerland. Near Chicago, researchers at a "pajama party" who watched via satellite let out an early morning cheer.

The blip was literally of cosmic proportions, representing a new tool to probe the birth of the universe.

The world's largest atom smasher passed its first test Wednesday as scientists said their powerful tool is almost ready to reveal how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets and everything.

Rivals and friends turned out in the wee hours at Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., in pajamas to watch the event by a special satellite connection. Joining in from around the world were other physicists — many of whom may one day work on the new Large Hadron Collider.

Tension mounted in the five control rooms at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, as scientists huddled around computer screens. After a few trial runs, they fired a beam of protons clockwise around the 17-mile tunnel of the collider deep under the rolling fields along the Swiss-French border. Then they succeeded in sending another beam in the opposite, counterclockwise direction.

The physicists celebrated with champagne when the white dots flashed on the blue screens of the control room, showing a successful crossing of the finish line on the $10 billion machine under planning since 1984.

"The first technical challenge has been met," said a jubilant Robert Aymar, director-general of CERN. "What you have just seen is the result of 20 years of effort. It all went like clockwork. Now it's for the physicists to show us what they can do.

"They are ready to go for discoveries," Aymar said. "Man has always shown he wants to know where he comes from and where he will go, where the universe comes from and where it will go. So here we're looking at essential questions for mankind."

The beams will gradually be filled with more protons and fired at near the speed of light in opposite directions around the tunnel, making 11,000 circuits a second. They will travel down the middle of two tubes about the width of fire hoses, speeding through a vacuum that is colder than outer space. At four points in the tunnel, the scientist will use giant magnets to cross the beams and cause protons to collide. The collider's two largest detectors — essentially huge digital cameras weighing thousands of tons — are capable of taking millions of snapshots a second.

It is likely to be several weeks before the first significant collisions.

The CERN experiments could reveal more about "dark matter," antimatter and possibly hidden dimensions of space and time. It could also find evidence of a hypothetical particle — the Higgs boson — which is sometimes called the "God particle" because it is believed to give mass to all other particles, and thus to matter that makes up the universe.

Smaller colliders have been used for decades to study the makeup of the atom. Scientists once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of an atom's nucleus, but experiments have shown that protons and neutrons are made of quarks and gluons and that there are other forces and particles.

The LHC provides much greater power than earlier colliders.

Its start came over the objections of some who feared the collision of protons could eventually imperil the Earth by creating micro black holes — subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars.

"It's nonsense," said James Gillies, chief spokesman for CERN, which also received support for the project by leading scientists such as Britain's Stephen Hawking.

Gillies said the only risk would be if a beam at full power were to go out of control, and that would only damage the accelerator itself and burrow into the rock around the tunnel. No one would be endangered because the tunnel is evacuated when beams are being fired.

No such problem occurred Wednesday, although the accelerator is still probably a year away from full power.

The project organized by the 20 European member nations of CERN has attracted researchers from 80 nations. Some 1,200 are from the United States, an observer country that contributed $531 million. Japan, Canada, Russia and India — also observers — are other major contributors.

Some scientists have been waiting for 20 years to use the LHC.

The complexity of manufacturing it required groundbreaking advances in the use of supercooled, superconducting equipment. The 2001 start and 2005 completion dates were pushed back by two years each, and the cost of the construction was 25 percent higher than originally budgeted in 1996, said Luciano Maiani, who was CERN director-general at the time.

Maiani and the other three former directors-general attended Wednesday's experiment

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India now has its own amphibious warfare doctrine

New Delhi, Sept 09: In a major step towards providing the much-needed synergy among its three armed forces, India on Tuesday promulgated a new doctrine to effectively conduct operations in an amphibious environment involving sea, land and air dimensions.

Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman and Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta released the "Joint Doctrine for Amphibious Operations", meant to serve as a guideline on how the Armed Forces intend to plan and conduct amphibious operations involving all three dimensions of warfare.

"The doctrine is meant to serve as a guideline on how Armed Forces intend to plan and conduct these operations and achieve full synergistic effect of joint combat power," Defence Ministry sources said here.

Laying down the commonality among the tri-services for the smooth conduct of amphibious operations, the joint doctrine, which had been under preparation for the last four years, contained lessons learnt during the Army, Navy and Air Force's joint amphibious exercises conducted in 2005 and 2007.

"We have incorporated in the doctrine all the lessons learnt during the exercises since 2004 to validate some of the concepts," sources said.

Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Lt Gen Hardev Singh Lidder and other senior officials of the three forces were present during the doctrine release.

Indian defence forces have been consciously moving in the direction of integration of their operations and the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) Headquarters has, since its inception, made the necessary efforts in streamlining some of the joint aspects.

The IDS headquarters had got several aspects such as training, operations, financial planning, budgeting and overseeing the tri-service institutions of the defence forces integrated to an extent already and has promulgated a number of joint doctrines, orders and instructions in this regard.

Since the time of World War II, particularly the famous Normandy landings by the Allied Forces, modern day warfare has witnessed the crucial part played by amphibious operations.

Though India has been late in preparing a doctrine for amphibious warfare, the Indian armed forces have now readied themselves with their own doctrine that would help them in taking the battle to enemy shores, literally.

The two amphibious exercises carried out by Army, Navy and Air Force helped the IDS in resolving the glitches in the concepts and incorporate them in the doctrine.

In fact, one well-planned and executed amphibious operation -- basically a tri-service operation launched from the sea by carrying soldiers and their weaponry on a ship and affecting a landing on enemy shore -- could change the course of a war.

Canadian ships to exercise with Indian Navy

NEW DELHI: Two Canadian warships will be visiting Indian waters for four days from Wednesday and carry out an exercise in the sea off the Chennai coast on Saturday.

The two ships -- HMCS Calgary and HMCS Protecteur -- will dock at the Chennai port while the Canadian Naval officers and men interact with their Indian counterparts there during the visit, Indian Navy sources said here on Tuesday.

Before the ships leave the Indian waters, the two navies would conduct a Passage Exercise in the Bay of Bengal involving communication, manoeuvring, station keeping, Visit-Board-Search-Seize operations and exchange of personnel.

HMCS Calgary is a Halifax-class frigate with a complement of 215 men including 25 officers. It has a maximum displacement of 4,770-tonnes and is equipped with Electronic Counter Measures capability. It carries Harpoon missiles, Sea Sparrow Surface-to-Air Missile, 57-mm Bofors Gun and suitable Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities, along with a Sea King helicopter.

HMCS Protecteur is an Auxillary ship (tanker) with a complement of 365 men including 27 officers. It has a maximum displacement of 24,700 tonne and carries a Sea King helicopter.

Fresh Chinese incursions across LAC

NEW DELHI: Though it eventually refrained from back-stabbing India during the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting at Vienna, China continues to needle Indian forces all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

In the latest set of incursions across the LAC, Chinese patrols once again "transgressed" into the Indian side at the strategically located Pangong Tso lake as well as Trig Heights in eastern Ladakh on September 2-3, said sources.

There were both boat and vehicle-mounted People's Liberation Army (PLA) patrols on the north bank of Pangong Tso, two-third of which is controlled by China as it extends from India to Tibet at an altitude of 4,218 metres, on September 2.

A day later, a vehicle-mounted PLA patrol crossed over at the Trig Heights. "The patrol was on our side for quite some time before it went back. PLA has really stepped up incursions into our side in eastern Ladakh region this year, with well over 100 transgressions being recorded there since January," said a source.

Pangong Tso and Trig Heights have become quite contentious since the 1999 Kargil conflict, with China even constructing a "track" right up to the lake's southern bank during that time to demonstrate its support to Pakistan. China, it's assessed, wants the border to be drawn in a straight line on the lake to gain strategic advantage. It seeks similar gains in Trig Heights and Demchok areas in the western sector.

But eastern Ladakh is not the only region where Chinese patrols have been flexing their muscles in an "aggressive" border management policy to put pressure on India and lay claim to disputed areas along the LAC.

Similar Chinese moves have been witnessed in the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim in recent months. In fact, perturbed by the incursions into Sikkim, "a settled matter" as far as India is concerned, the government in June had made some strong public statements about taking up the matter with China.

With over 80 incursions across the 206-km Sikkim-Tibet border being recorded since January, the Indian establishment is especially worried about the so-called 2.1 sq km "finger area", the northern-most tip of Sikkim, which China is claiming as its own territory.

The government, incidentally, is now conducting a fresh survey of the northern plateau in Sikkim to counter claims by China. The survey is using latest technology to chart out the watershed in the area, which is usually used to demarcate boundaries in mountainous areas.

Many feel China's gameplan could well be to use Sikkim as a leverage in its policy of exerting pressure on India over the Tawang tract in Arunachal Pradesh. Always careful of not ruffling Chinese feathers, India often downplays intrusions by its troops, holding that they take place due to "differing perceptions" of the still-unresolved LAC.

The fact, however, remains that the step-up in incursions has been accompanied by a hardening of the Chinese posture in the never-ending border talks to delineate the LAC. What has added to the worry of Indian defence planners is the rapid build-up of military infrastructure by China all along the LAC making it possible for it to amass large troops at the border in double-quick time.

US offers India $170 mn deal for sale of 24 harpoon missiles

WASHINGTON: The US has offered India a $170 million deal for the sale of two dozen Harpoon air to ground anti-ship missiles to modernise its air force anti-surface warfare mission capabilities and improve its naval operational flexibility.

The Pentagon announced the possible sale of the Harpoon missiles to India as Defence minister A K Antony met his US counterpart Robert Gates Tuesday "to discuss ways to deepen the bilateral security cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest."

There was no official word from the Indian side but the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said it had notified the Pentagon of the possible Foreign Military Sale to India of Harpoon Block II Missiles as well as associated equipment and services. Such a deal would be worth as much as 170 million dollars. "The Government of India has requested a possible sale of 20 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles and 4 ATM-84L Harpoon Block II Exercise missiles," the agency said.

"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of an important partner and to strengthen the US-India strategic relationship, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South Asia," it said. "India intends to use the Harpoon missiles to modernise its Air Force Anti-Surface Warfare mission capabilities and improve its naval operational flexibility.

"The missiles will assist the Indian Navy to develop and enhance standardisation and operational ability with the United States. India will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces," DSCA said. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale, it said. The prime contractor will be The Boeing Company of St. Louis, Missouri.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region. There will also be no adverse impact on US defence readiness, DSCA said. The Harpoon is an all weather, subsonic, over the horizon, anti-ship missile which can be launched from surface ships, submarines and aircraft.

The Harpoon Block II is the latest version of the Harpoon missile and is able to strike land-based targets and ships in littoral environments. The Harpoon Block II missile can discriminate target ships from islands and other nearby land masses. The Block II is fully compatible with current operating Harpoon platforms with no modifications required.

In pictures: Bihar rescue effort

India joins nuclear club, gets NSG waiver

What it means for India

Access to nuclear technology without signing CTBT, NPT

India can buy nuclear reactors from US, Russia, France

India will get access to nuclear fuel from world market

India will have access to civilian space technology

India will get access to nuclear technology without having signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or Non Proliferation Treaty. It opens up nuclear commerce for India and it can buy nuclear reactors from Russia, France and USA.

India will get access to nuclear fuel from the international market and also civilian space technology.

Australia: no uranium sales to India, despite end of supply ban

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia will not sell uranium to India unless it signs a key non-proliferation pact, despite a decision by nuclear supplier nations to end a ban on trading with New Delhi, a minister said Monday.

Australia's government pledged it would scrap a landmark deal, negotiated by the former conservative administration before it lost power last November, to sell uranium to India for its nuclear energy programme.

"(The government) shouldn't be changing its policy to not supply to countries that are not signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean. "India understands that."

The comments came after the United States, which has signed a nuclear technology sharing deal with India, on Saturday persuaded supplier nations to lift a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology, reached consensus in Vienna on a one-off waiver of its rules for India, which refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Australia has the world's largest reserves of uranium, which is used as nuclear fuel, but has no nuclear power industry and only operates three yellowcake mines.

But Crean said that while Australia welcomed the safeguards and commitment India has agreed to regarding its civilian nuclear programme, it was in its best interests not to sell yellowcake to a nation that has not signed the NPT.

"I think that we should be using our strength as a supplier of uranium to really ensure that the appropriate safeguard measures are in place," he said.

"(India) hasn't asked for supplies of uranium from us. They've sought our support as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group but they haven't sought supplies of uranium from us. If they do, they know what our policy is."

Washington wanted a special waiver of the NSG on nuclear trading with India so it can share civilian nuclear technology with New Delhi.

Critics say the deal undermines international non-proliferation efforts and accuse the nuclear powers of pursuing commercial and political gains.

Australia: no uranium sales to India, despite end of supply ban

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia will not sell uranium to India unless it signs a key non-proliferation pact, despite a decision by nuclear supplier nations to end a ban on trading with New Delhi, a minister said Monday.

Australia's government pledged it would scrap a landmark deal, negotiated by the former conservative administration before it lost power last November, to sell uranium to India for its nuclear energy programme.

"(The government) shouldn't be changing its policy to not supply to countries that are not signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean. "India understands that."

The comments came after the United States, which has signed a nuclear technology sharing deal with India, on Saturday persuaded supplier nations to lift a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade with India.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology, reached consensus in Vienna on a one-off waiver of its rules for India, which refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Australia has the world's largest reserves of uranium, which is used as nuclear fuel, but has no nuclear power industry and only operates three yellowcake mines.

But Crean said that while Australia welcomed the safeguards and commitment India has agreed to regarding its civilian nuclear programme, it was in its best interests not to sell yellowcake to a nation that has not signed the NPT.

"I think that we should be using our strength as a supplier of uranium to really ensure that the appropriate safeguard measures are in place," he said.

"(India) hasn't asked for supplies of uranium from us. They've sought our support as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group but they haven't sought supplies of uranium from us. If they do, they know what our policy is."

Washington wanted a special waiver of the NSG on nuclear trading with India so it can share civilian nuclear technology with New Delhi.

Critics say the deal undermines international non-proliferation efforts and accuse the nuclear powers of pursuing commercial and political gains.

India says nuclear deal will ensure economic future

NEW DELHI (AFP) - The Indian government welcomed a decision by nuclear supplier nations to end the decades-old ban on trading with the country, saying it would propel India's future economic growth.

The government called the nuclear trade waiver a "momentous" milestone in its quest to achieve energy security and meet the challenge of global warming.

The statement came after the United States won approval in Vienna on Saturday for the one-off waiver for India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the export and sale of nuclear technology.

The waiver -- a vital step in securing a controversial 2005 India-US civilian technology nuclear accord -- marked the end of India's "decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream," Premier Manmohan Singh said.

"The opening of full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the international community will be good for India and for the world," he said.

"It will give an impetus to India's pursuit of environmentally sustainable economic growth."

For global nuclear energy companies, the decision opens the door to an atomic reactor market worth billions of dollars, with India aiming to boost its share of nuclear power to five to seven percent by 2030.

The Confederation of Indian Industry forecast business opportunities worth around 30 billion dollars over the next 15 years and said India would need about 18 to 20 more nuclear reactors. It now has 22 reactors.

"The development is a major confidence-building move for the international community to engage with India especially in high technology trade," said the group's director general Chandrajit Banerjee.

A host of nuclear companies from French state-controlled Areva, Russia's Rosatom Corp to General Electric of the United States have been jockeying for a slice of India's lucrative atomic market.

India, where many areas endure power blackouts, has been denied access to civilian nuclear technology since it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974 and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group was founded to stop other countries emulating India's example in using imported technology to make an atomic bomb.

The oil-import dependent nation is seeking to broaden its fuel sources to sustain its fast-growing economy.

"This decision enables India to look at nuclear energy in a far more focused manner," strategic analyst Uday Bhaskar told AFP.

The world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter for decades has been the United States. But emissions have also rapidly grown in the developing world -- and India is now among the top five emitters.

"India and China are the swing states on global warming and encouraging them to look at clean nuclear energy can only have a positive impact for global warming," Bhaskar said.

The landmark deal has stirred huge controversy in India.

Both the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and the communists slammed the deal, saying it would curb India's military options and bring the country's foreign policy too much under US influence.

"India has walked into the non-proliferation trap set by the US," senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said.

But Indian newspapers broadly welcomed the deal, and hailed Singh for his dogged negotiating skills.

"India enters elite nuclear club after high-voltage diplomacy," declared the Sunday Times, while The Hindu described Saturday's announcement as "replete with historic and political significance."

The agreement was one of the key foreign policy initiatives of US President George W. Bush as well as of Singh, whose Congress party faces general elections by May 2009.

Washington was anxious to get the deal through so the US Congress could ratify it before adjourning at the end of September for the November presidential elections.

US-India nuclear accord approved

The group of nations which regulates the global nuclear trade has approved a US proposal to lift restrictions on selling nuclear technology to India.

The controversial deal now needs to be ratified by the US Congress before it can be implemented.

India says the deal is vital for it to meet its civil energy demands.

The approval came after India pledged to keep its nuclear non-proliferation commitments and to uphold a voluntary moratorium on testing atomic weapons.

'End of isolation'

It took the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) nearly three days of protracted negotiations in Vienna to reach agreement.

Critics of the deal say it creates a dangerous precedent - effectively allowing India to expand its nuclear power industry without requiring it to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as other nations must.

They say the deal would undermine the arguments for isolating Iran over its nuclear programme and be a disaster for international non-proliferation efforts.

Manmohan Singh
Indian PM Manmohan Singh described the deal as "momentous"

But US and Indian officials hailed the agreement as one that would help limit the unregulated spread of nuclear technology and material while allowing India to meet its energy demands with a "clean and reliable" supply.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the NSG decision "marks the end of India's decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream and of the technology denial regime".

Austria, New Zealand and Ireland lifted their objection to the US proposal after India made a formal pledge to not share sensitive nuclear technology or material and to uphold its moratorium on testing nuclear weapons.

The breakthrough reportedly came after US President George W Bush lobbied members of the NSG.

"This is a critically important moment for meeting the energy needs in India, and indeed dealing with the global need for clean and reliable energy supplies," said John Rood, acting US undersecretary of state for arms control.

'Huge difference'

The US restricted nuclear co-operation with India after it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974.

The current deal is the centrepiece of US efforts to bolster ties with India. However, the Bush administration must attempt to rush it through Congress before legislators break to prepare for November's elections - held at the same time as the presidential vote.

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the communists - former allies of the governing Congress party who withdrew support for the government over the nuclear deal - have accused the government of "deceiving" the country.

"There is a huge difference between what the US government is telling its Congress and what our government is telling us," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters.

Under the terms of the deal, India would open 14 civilian nuclear facilities to inspection - but its nuclear weapons sites would remain off-limits.

Critics fear assistance to India's civil programme could free-up additional radioactive material for bomb-making purposes

India boosts flood relief effort

The flood waters have swamped large areas of Bihar

India has stepped up its efforts to assist half a million people displaced by severe flooding in Bihar state.

Reports say the military has poured fresh troops, doctors and medical equipment into the devastated north.

Tens of thousands of survivors have crowded into unsanitary relief camps, where tensions are growing over the desperate lack of emergency supplies.

Monsoon rains caused a river to change course cutting across Bihar, affecting areas not normally prone to floods.

At least 75 people have been killed in Bihar - but officials have warned that the death toll could climb once the situation in remote areas becomes clear.

Reports suggest that some villages have simply been washed away by strong currents.

In the north-eastern state of Assam, monsoon rains have caused the Brahmaputra river to burst its banks, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

More than 100 villages have been completely submerged in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Across the border in Nepal, tens of thousands of people have also been displaced.

Disorganisation

More than half a million people have been evacuated from the disaster zone, and officials hope to rescue the other 500,000 in the next few days, disaster management officials said.

The military said it was sending thousands more troops as well as helicopters and boats to Bihar, which is one of India's poorest states.

map

Uncertainty in India flood camp
How we rescued survivors
In pictures: Flood rescue effort
See how the river changed course

With the numbers of people in the camps expected to nearly double in the coming days, there are fears that poor conditions could lead to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera.

The United Nations warned that "the heat, combined with limited supplies of safe drinking water and poor hygiene conditions, poses a great risk of water and vector-borne diseases".

The temporary camps are being supported by volunteers and community groups, but a lack of central co-ordination is hampering efforts.

Visiting the Bageecha relief camp in Purnea, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder could find no camp co-ordinator or government official in charge of distributing aid.

Trucks and vans carrying aid stood parked on the highway as volunteers waited to be organised, he said.

The situation was symptomatic of what was happening across Bihar's flood-affected areas, our correspondent says.

Massive costs

The disaster began on 18 August when a dam burst on the Saptakoshi river in Nepal.

The Saptakoshi, which becomes the Kosi when it enters India, subsequently broke its banks in Bihar.

Officials in Nepal say hundreds of people there have been hit by illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and an estimated 50,000 are homeless.

They say nearly 1,000 houses have been completely destroyed, and that power supplies and transport have been severely affected.

The costs to the economy are now estimated at one billion Nepalese rupees ($14.25m).

In pictures: Bihar flood rescue

India to carry out test flight of LCH soon

New Delhi, Aug 31: India's first indigenously-developed Light Combat Helicopter will be test flown later this year, in a major step aimed at giving a boost to the country's fighting capabilities in the Himalayas. State-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has completed development of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and it will test fly the chopper by the year-end.

If the test flight goes smoothly, the LCH, built on the platform of a Cheetah body would be the second big feather in HAL's cap after the Advanced Light Helicopter. The LCH is expected to fill vital gaps in India's security as the armed forces lack a helicopter gunship which can operate in extreme high altitude above 9,000 feet.

The indigenous development of such a helicopter comes as IAF has recently floated international tenders for the purchase of 22 advanced helicopter gunships. Besides Eurocopter which is part of the defence and aviation consortium EADS, the other major contenders for this competition are Boeing's AH-54D, Augusta Westland's AW-129 Mangustu and Russia's MI-28N NightHunters.

Top HAL officials said work on the project was going on as per schedule. The aerospace major had taken five years to design the Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' but it completed the design of the LCH within 16-17 months. The helicopter will be equipped with helmet-mounted targeting systems, electronic warfare systems and advanced weapons systems.