Atomic Energy Benefits Should Not Remain Confined to Few: PM
Prime minister Manmohan Singh, while seeking international cooperation for a major expansion of country’s nuclear programme, has said that benefits of atomic energy should not remain restricted to a “privileged few”, for it was important to meet power requirements of developing countries.
In a function where IAEA chief Mohammad ElBaradei was conferred the coveted Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, prime minister Manmohan Singh said that concerted and collective efforts of the international community are required for promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy as widely as possible.
“We need the concerted and collective efforts of the international community to promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” Singh said.
He also said that India is on the point of a major expansion of its nuclear programme in which international cooperation will be a vital component.
Noting that nuclear energy was vital to meeting the energy and development needs of developing countries like India, he said, “Its benefits should not remain confined to a privileged few.”
At the same time, the prime minister cautioned that the growth of nuclear energy must be accompanied with measures to lessen and eliminate risks of misuse.
Singh said that efforts are needed to reinforce public trust and confidence in issues pertaining to nuclear safety and security.
Presenting the Rs 25 lakh prize, President Pratibha Patil said, “India’s long standing commitment to universal, non- discriminatory and comprehensive nuclear disarmament is well known. This commitment stands undiluted and undiminished.”
“While every state has the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, we believe that states should adhere to commitments they have undertaken under international treaties and instruments,” Patil said adding that India was proud of its non-proliferation record.
