7 March 2005
India's nuclear program crossed an important milestone on Sunday when the country's largest and the first 540 megawatt (MWE) nuclear pressurized heavy water reactor was commissioned at 12:42 pm at Tarapur, a nearly three-hour drive from Mumbai. It is the fourth unit at this atomic power station and the 15th one in the country.
[1] “India's largest nuclear reactor commissioned” The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1044038.cms

10 May 2005
The government introduced a bill in parliament today that seeks to prevent nuclear proliferation and the transfer of missile technology to non-nuclear states, a statement said. Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems bill on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the tests India carried with a series of weapons, including a 45-megaton thermonuclear device. The bill, which becomes law if endorsed by parliament's two houses, will “provide an integrated legislative basis to India's commitment to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” Mukherjee said.
[1] “India govt moves to prevent nuclear proliferation, missile technology transfer” Forbes http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005
/05/10/afx2013086.html

24 July 2005
India is to press ahead with talks on a pipeline deal to deliver natural gas from Iran despite an agreement with the United States for the sale of civilian nuclear technology, reports said. Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who this year secured cabinet approval for the pipeline first mooted in 1994, said the nuclear technology agreement with Washington is not a 'quid pro quo' for abandoning the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. “I don't think there's any connection between the two,” said Aiyar, when asked if India had promised to scrap efforts to import natural gas from Iran in return for Washington providing nuclear technology and fuel for power generation, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
[1] “India to continue Iran pipeline talks despite US nuclear energy deal – reports” Forbes, 24 July 1005, http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/
2005/07/24/afx2153721.html

5 August 2005
India and Pakistan have started a fresh round of talks aimed at building trust on military issues and avoiding an accidental nuclear war, officials said. The two sides hope to finalize an agreement to notify each other ahead of missile tests and upgrade an existing hotline to reduce risks of nuclear accidents, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.
It is the third round of discussions in the so-called nuclear confidence building measures. Previous meetings, part of a peace process that began in January 2004, were also held in June and last December.
[1] “India, Pakistan resume talks on nuclear issues” Forbes. 5 August 2005, http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/
2005/08/05/afx2174420.html

14 September 2005
With pledges to elevate relations with India to a new level of friendship after decades of tensions, President George W. Bush signed an accord with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July promising cooperation on dozens of issues from military security to civilian nuclear power. But a new irritant has disrupted the push toward Indian-American friendship as the Bush administration has started pressing a reluctant India to join the West in confronting Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. India, with a longstanding friendship with Tehran, is demurring. "The Indians are emerging from their nonaligned status and becoming a global power, and they have to begin to think about their responsibilities," a senior administration official said. "It's a basic choice you make," he said, adding that the choice was whether to join Europe and the United States in seeking to stop Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons or to join other countries in thwarting a referral of Iran's actions to the United Nations Security Council.
[1] Steven R. Weisman, “Friendship with Iran threatens India's ties to U.S.” The International Herald Tribune, 14 September 2005.

27 September 2005
Canada reversed itself on Monday and said it would supply material for India’s atomic energy program, even though India has carried out nuclear tests in the past. Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew signed an agreement with his Indian counterpart, Natwar Singh, under which Canada will allow the supply of nuclear-related ‘dual-use items’, which can be used for civilian and military applications. The two countries also agreed to pursue further opportunities for the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, diplomatic phrasing that a Canadian official said could lead to the resumption of the supply of Canadian nuclear reactors to India. “We have to acknowledge the substantial progress that has been made in India,” Pettigrew told a news conference. He was referring to several steps taken by Delhi, including a moratorium on nuclear testing and a commitment to separate its civilian and military nuclear programs.
[1] “Canada to help India’s nuclear programme” Dawn, 27 September 2005, http://www.dawn.com/2005/09/27/top14.htm

26 November 2005
India will be under "no compulsion" to separate its civil and nuclear facilities if it finds the process too complicated and expensive, official sources said here on Friday. "We don't have to go ahead with this," the sources said about India's commitments under the 18 July civilian nuclear deal with the United States. But in case India took the view that separation was not viable, the other "benefits" that were to flow to New Delhi as per the accord would not be available.
[1] “No compulsion for India to separate civil and nuclear facilities” The Hindu, 26 November 2005, http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/26/stories/
2005112617090100.htm

15 December 2005
India said it will not allow changes to a nuclear deal with the United States, to ensure its passage by the U.S. Congress. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament the landmark deal struck with U.S. President George W Bush when he visited Washington in July, giving New Delhi access to civilian atomic technology, was a “binding commitment.” The agreement would extend full U.S. civilian nuclear energy cooperation to New Delhi, denied access to nuclear technology since 1974 when it first tested a nuclear weapon and refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
[1] “Indian PM says no changes to India-US nuclear deal” Forbes, 15 December 2005, http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/
2005/12/15/afx2393904.html

30 January 2006
India plans to abstain from a vote on Iran's nuclear program at an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency later this week, senior Indian officials said Monday. The officials spoke as countries concerned with the Iranian nuclear crisis - three European countries, the United States, Russia and China - were preparing for crucial meetings in London. The board of the IAEA, the nuclear regulator of the United Nations, is scheduled to hold an emergency session in Vienna on Thursday to consider sending the nuclear issue to the Security Council, where sanctions against Iran would be considered.
[1] “India says it will abstain in Iran nuclear vote” The International Herald Tribune, 30 January 2006, http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/30/news/india.php

2 March 2006
During a visit to India, U.S. President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh discussed the two nations’ landmark agreement to share nuclear reactors, fuel, and expertise in return for India’s acceptance of international safeguards. Eight months in the making, the accord would end India's long isolation as a nuclear maverick that defied world appeals and developed nuclear weapons. India agreed to separate its tightly entwined nuclear industry — declaring 14 reactors as commercial facilities and eight as military — and to open the civilian side to international inspections for the first time.
[1] “Nuclear deal announced as Bush visits India” USA Today, 2 March 2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/
2006-03-02-nuclear-pact_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

23 August 2006
India's prime minister said Wednesday the country would retain its right to carry out future nuclear tests despite a civilian nuclear deal with the United States, a news report said. "There is no scope for capping of our strategic (nuclear) program. It will be decided by the people, government and Parliament of the country and not by any outside power," Press Trust of India quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying in a statement in Parliament.
[1] “India Said to Retain Right to Hold Tests” The Washington Post, 23 August 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/08/23/AR2006082300845.html

8 September 2006
India will not accept any U.S. move to cap its production of enriched uranium and plutonium, the country's top nuclear scientist said in an interview published Friday.  "We will accept only a multilaterally negotiated nondiscriminatory and universally verifiable treaty (on fissile material production), negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament," The Hindu newspaper quoted Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, as saying. India considers reprocessing of uranium and plutonium an extremely important part of full civil nuclear cooperation with the United States, Kakodkar said
[1] “Report: India disproves capping of its nuclear fissile material production” The International Herald Tribune, 8 September 2006, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/08/asia/
AS_GEN_India_US_Nuclear.php

15 November 2006
India and Pakistan agreed on measures to combat terrorism and prevent an accidental nuclear conflict in South Asia at the first peace talks since a terrorist attack on Mumbai's train network in July, Pakistan's foreign secretary said Wednesday. Blaming the attack — which killed more than 200 people — on militants based in Pakistan, and on Islamabad's intelligence service, India put the talks on hold. The key to resumption was a deal to create what was described as an "anti-terrorism mechanism" that could help the historic rivals work together to halt attacks like those in Mumbai. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan told reporters that, at talks that began Tuesday, he and Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon had agreed to set up a three-member commission to exchange information on terror threats. A foreign ministry official from each side is to work with the group, he said.
[1] “India and Pakistan agree on anti-terror, nuclear safety measures” USA Today , 15 November 2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/
2006-11-15-india-pakistan_x.htm

19 November 2006
India on Sunday successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile with a range of up to 180 miles, a defense ministry official said. The Prithvi missile was fired into the Bay of Bengal from a test range in Chandipur in the eastern state of Orissa, the official said on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to reveal his identity under ministry rules. India's Prithvi test comes three days after rival Pakistan carried out a similar test of its nuclear-capable Ghauri missile, also known as the Hatf 5.
[1] “India test-fires nuclear-capable missile” USA Today, 19 November 2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/
2006-11-19-india-missile_x.htm

19 December 2006
President Bush signed legislation yesterday permitting civilian nuclear cooperation with India, reversing three decades of nonproliferation policy in the interest of redefining U.S. relations with the world's largest democracy and reshaping the geopolitical balance as China asserts itself in Asia. Bush, who has made the fight against the spread of nuclear weapons a centerpiece of his foreign policy, persuaded Congress to make an exception for India despite its not having signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Although critics warn that the deal could spark a regional arms race, Bush called it a landmark moment that finally relegates Cold War-era tensions to the past. "The United States and India are natural partners," Bush said at a signing ceremony in the East Room attended by lawmakers, diplomats and Indian Americans. "The rivalries that once kept our nations apart are no more -- and today, America and India are united by deeply held values."
[1] “Bush Signs India Nuclear Law,” Washington Post, 19 December 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2006/12/18/AR2006121800233_pf.html

2 January 2007
India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged lists of nuclear installations and facilities. The exchange took place simultaneously through diplomatic channels at New Delhi and Islamabad. The exchange is mandated by the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities.
[1] “Lists of nuclear facilities exchanged” The Hindu, 2 January 2007, http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/02/stories/
2007010217680100.htm

23 July 2007
The United States and India agreed to terms Friday for their nuclear trade deal, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 20). “The agreement has been finalized but it awaits review by both governments,” said Rahul Chhabra, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Washington, said following high-level talks here last week on the implementation agreement for the deal.  The talks were extended into Friday as officials made headway through disputes that had stalled the agreement over the past several months.
[1] “U.S., India Finalize Nuclear Deal,” Global Security Newswire, 23 July 2007, http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/
2007/7/23/afc4e821-aea1-422d-b44d-fbef9f3a4afc.html

5 September 2007
Indian leaders have created a 15-person commission to study the ramifications of a pending nuclear trade agreement with the United States, the Associated Press reported today.  The panel’s creation marks an effort by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to keep control of his political leadership, which has been threatened by communist parties’ opposition to the nuclear deal.
[1] “India Creates Panel to Study Nuclear Deal,” Global Security Newswire, 5 September 2007, http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/
2007/9/5/8e208240-7281-459a-93d1-4cbb79d42929.html

18 October 2007
Echoing U.S. statements, Indian officials yesterday denied that a bilateral nuclear trade agreement has been mortally wounded by domestic opposition in New Delhi, Agence France-Presse reported. “The deal is not in cold storage and is very much in the offing,” said ruling Congress party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed.  “It is not correct to say that the deal has been put on hold or put on the back burner.” The U.S. and Indian statements followed a Monday phone conversation in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told President George W. Bush that “certain difficulties” were preventing Singh from pressing the deal toward implementation.
[1] “Facing Trouble at Home, Indian Leaders Continue to Build International Support for Nuclear Deal,” Global Security Newswire, 18 October 2007, http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/
issues/2007/10/18/afaff293-3256-4c53-99da-38d15d80d928.html

19 October 2007
India and Pakistan began a daylong discussion today intended to further reduce the likelihood of an accidental nuclear conflict between the neighboring rivals, Agence France-Presse reported. The meeting continued a peace process begun by the nuclear-armed nations in January 2004, according to an Indian Foreign ministry statement.  The sides were expected to review progress in implementing confidence-building measures as well as security matters involving the United Nations and other international institutions, the statement said.
[1] “India, Pakistan Open Nuclear Peace Talks,” Global Security Newswire, 19 October 2007,  http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007/10/19/
572ca555-3b20-4cf2-b622-517eb37b37e1.html

2 November 2007
Analysts say time is running out for India and the United States to finalize their nuclear trade agreement, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday. Progress has stalled while the Singh administration attempts to overcome resistance from parties on both ends of the political spectrum to the deal.  Critics say Washington would receive undue influence over Indian policies through the agreement, which would provide New Delhi with access to U.S. nuclear material and technology in exchange for allowing international monitoring of its civilian atomic complex.
[1] “Time Limited to Close India Deal, Experts Say” Global Security Newswire, 2 November 2007,  http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2007/11/2/
3adb11e2-cc48-483f-9a88-ec51637e3fe9.html

22 November 2007
During a visit to Vienna, Indian Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar held discussions with IAEA Director General El Baradei regarding negotiations on a safeguards agreement with India. The India-specific safeguards agreement for its civilian nuclear plants is expected to be similar to the facility- specific and material-specific agreements India has with the Agency, official sources said.
[1] “India, IAEA Continue Talks on N-Safeguards,” Sahara Samay website, 22 November 2007, http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=89465.

	Updated December 2007