A former UN weapons inspector David Albright has challenged the US argument favouring US-India nuclear deal saying India cannot be trusted with foreign nuclear material.
The report says India circumvents other countries' export controls and leaks sensitive technology in procuring material for its nuclear programme. The Indian embassy has dismissed the report as "baseless."
Albright, a physicist who heads the Institute for Science and International Security, said he had "uncovered a well-developed and secret Indian programme to outfit its uranium enrichment program and circumvent other countries' export control efforts."
Co-authored by researcher Susan Basu, the report says when India seeks bids for nuclear-related equipment, it allows prospective suppliers to buy blueprints and manufacturing instructions for a particular item. Company officials could then sell the item or related technology to other customers.
"You could go buy some centrifuge design information through the Indian procurement system. It's a very irresponsible way to handle sensitive information," Albright said.
Albright also claimed that Indian Rare Earths Ltd. of Mumbai, under direction of India's Department of Atomic Energy, procures material and technology for a secret gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant but does not reveal to foreign suppliers that the plant is not subject to international monitoring. Indian Embassy spokesperson Venu Rajamani said the report was “ridiculous and filled with all kinds of baseless charges."