Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Tuesday that India had a comprehensive export controls system on nuclear technology and was committed to non-transfer of sensitive technologies and equipment to other countries that do not possess them. It was also participating “constructively” in negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Inaugurating an international conference on peaceful use of atomic energy, he said: “If we use the power of the atom wisely for universal good, the possibilities are unbounded. But if we do not, the consequences would also be devastating for peace and progress.”
But the peaceful use of nuclear energy was not just about power because there were promising applications in agriculture, food production and preservation, medicine and water desalination. India, Dr. Singh noted, had successfully developed 37 mutant varieties of seeds for commercial cultivation using nuclear techniques and use of radiation technology for food preservation was growing.
