With the government winning the trust vote, India is all set to launch a full blast lobbying among the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group from later this week. A number of ministers and officials will fan out to various NSG countries to muster support for the nuclear deal, particularly focusing on nations which have had reservations so far on allowing exemption to India.
The government expects the IAEA Board of Governors to approve the India-specific safeguards agreement during its meeting on August 1. After this step, India will have to get a waiver by consensus from NSG to allow it to have civil nuclear cooperation with the international community.
The ministers, who include Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan and Anand Sharma, will explain India's position and dwell on the reasons for giving exemption, sources said. Besides the ministers, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and some other officials of the Ministry of External Affairs will also travel abroad to lobby support.
The government is also expected to instruct its envoys in the NSG countries to approach the governments there with regard to mustering support. Firming up of Safeguards Agreement and NSG waiver are key steps in the implementation of the Indo-US agreement which is to be approved by the American Congress.
