The CPM’s Brinda Karat at the party’s headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)

Justifying the decision to withdraw support to the UPA government, the Left parties issued a joint statement listing “key concerns” on the IAEA safeguards agreement that were not addressed by the Centre.

The questions reproduced below are from the Left statement and the answers compiled by The Telegraph are on the basis of what the government and officials have been saying.

Question 1

In case the US or other countries in the NSG renege on fuel supply assurances for imported reactors, will we have the ability to withdraw these reactors from the IAEA safeguards?

A: This will depend on details of the safeguards agreement and on future bilateral agreements between India and countries, such as Russia, France or the US, that could supply nuclear reactors.

A bilateral agreement may involve safeguards in perpetuity. The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) units 1 and 2 provide an example of such an agreement. The reactors are indigenous, but since the first heavy water used in it had been imported, the reactors went under safeguards.

Question 2

If the US/NSG countries renege on fuel supply assurances, can we withdraw our indigenous civilian reactors from IAEA safeguards?

A: India’s options will be clearer when the safeguards agreement is made public. The text of the US-India 123 Agreement states that India will place its civilian nuclear facilities “under India-specific safeguards in perpetuity” and negotiate a safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

Any withdrawal of India’s indigenous civilian reactors from the IAEA safeguards could be interpreted as reversing India’s committed separation of nuclear facilities into two categories — civilian where safeguards operate and unsafeguarded non-civilian.

Question 3

If we have to bring nuclear fuel from (the) non-safeguarded part of our nuclear programme for these reactors in case of fuel supply assurances not being fulfilled, will we have the ability to take it back again?

A: Fuel that enters a safeguarded facility becomes safeguarded — it goes into the sophisticated material accounting system that is the hallmark of safeguards.

Question 4

What are the corrective steps that India can take if fuel supplies are interrupted by the US/NSG countries?

A: In the safeguards agreement with the IAEA, India was expected to define the corrective steps it would take in the event of an interruption in the supply of imported nuclear fuel. But it has not made public the corrective steps it would choose to exercise. One option will be to use fuel from domestic supplies.

Question 5

What are the conditions that India will have to fulfil if the corrective steps are to be put into operation?

A: This will depend on the type of corrective steps that India has outlined in the safeguards agreement. This remains under wraps for now.