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Intelligence & Ethics 2007
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Dinner Table Discussion

Ethical Review of India-US Civilian Nuclear Agreement of March 2006

Virendra Verma

President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed a civilian Nuclear Agreement on 02 March 2006.Both sides divided the nuclear plants for civilian and military use. The civilian plants would come under the safeguards of IAEA inspection. In return, India would get free access to nuclear technologies and fuel for civilian use. The prime purpose of civilian nuclear energy is to feed energy starved India. As of now the bill waits for US Congressional approval.

The agreement has drawn opposition both in USA and in India. If we examine this from purely ethical points of view the following points emerge:

  1. Safety, environment and cost concerns of nuclear reactors. The traditional cost factor in favor of nuclear power is no longer valid. If we add the nuclear disposal, enviornment and social costs including the accidents it would become costliest.
  2. It would generate, in fact has already started, conventional and nuclear arms races in India and Pakistan. Pakistan is looking over the shoulders of China after refusal by the USA to offer similar deal to Pakistan.
  3. No nuclear reactor is being built now in USA. None in Russia. Germany has decided to do away with Nuclear power once the current life of present reactors end.
  4. What is the real motive of the USA? This is important as there is waning interest in nuclear power except in Japan and France. The pressure of big industries on the US administration to find markets for their nuclear reactors was strong. A democratic and potentially vibrant Indian economy was an easy target.

This debate has regenerated after the North Korean Nuclear Test on 09 Oct 2006.


Colonel Virendra Sahai Verma is a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars and served for long periods in Kashmir and along the India-Tibet border. He is from military intelligence in the Indian army, with long service as a Tibet specialist. Presently he is a peace activist, a social worker, and a researcher on peace related subjects. He is a senior research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.