NEW DELHI, November 23: The recently-signed India-Japan nuclear agreement includes reprocessing consent and a termination clause similar to the one in the India-US atomic deal, the government told Parliament today.
Making a suo motu statement in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said the agreement is the first of its kind that Japan has signed with a non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In Rajya Sabha, Mr Akbar could not read out the statement due to ruckus created by the Opposition. He then laid the statement on the table of the House.
“The agreement underlines international recognition of India’s responsible record. It has taken six years of negotiations and is the product of work spanning two Governments. The basic features are similar to those of civil nuclear cooperation agreement we have concluded with other partners and include reprocessing consent and administrative arrangements,” the minister said.“It has a termination clause that is not new and is in fact almost identical to the provision in the US Agreement,” Mr Akbar said.
The Agreement, he said, also focuses more heavily on modern safety in the light of Japan’s experiences 2011, which witnessed radioactive leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The minister noted that 10 agreements covering diverse fields of engagement were signed during PM Modi’s November 11-12 visit.
During the talks with PM Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, including November 2008 Mumbai attack and 2016 Pathankot attack.
He said the two countries also agreed on a Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme.
“It is first of a kind arrangement in India, which is aimed at bridging a skill gap in high tech manufacturing in India. Under this programme, Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM) will be set up to train 30,000 Indian youth over 10 years in floor shop engineering skills,” Mr Akbar said.
He said the Japanese endowment courses will be instituted in select engineering and technology colleges of India.
“This skill development programme could be an effective game-changer in augmenting manufacturing in India. It would also help to better integrate India in global supply chains.
“One area which was of importance is joint projects in stem cell using iPS technology of Nobel Laureate Prof. Yamanaka, which holds promise for treating genetic disorders prevalent in Indian tribal belts,” Mr Akbar added.
