India not considering any proposal to sign Non-Proliferation Treaty as precondition for joining NSG, says Centre

New Delhi: India is not considering any proposal to sign the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) as a precondition for joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday. Replying to a written question, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh also said India’s application for NSG membership remains under consideration of the NSG. [caption id=“attachment_3188416” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Union minister VK Singh. PTI[/caption] The government continues to engage with the NSG and its members at appropriate levels for a decision on India’s application, he said. The minister said though India is not privy to internal discussions of the NSG, it is gathered that while no member explicitly opposes India’s membership, procedural objections have been raised ostensibly on the grounds of India’s non-NPT status. “India’s position on the NPT remains unchanged. There is no proposal under consideration of the government to sign the NPT as a precondition for joining the NSG,” Singh asserted. India’s NSG membership bid has been consistently blocked by China despite strong support to New Delhi from several countries, including the US and France.