Talking to the media at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) today after attending the International Conference on Nuclear Power in Developing Countries, the AEC chief said, India could accept only installation-specific safeguards.

``People are confused because there are three categories of countries which comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards: Nuclear weapons states that open only select facilities to IAEA; countries which have signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and accepted full-scope safeguards and countries like India and Pakistan which do not subscribe to NPT,'' he added.

Though Chidambaram evaded questions relating to independence of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and safety issues, he said, the DAE has never failedto comply with any of the AERB recommendations or strictures. ``The AERB board consists mostly of people outside the nuclear establishment and so there is no question of it being a subservient entity,'' he maintained.

Speaking at the five-day long seminar, the AEC chairman said that nuclear industries in the United States and European countries are nearly stabilised and pointed out that Asia would see a 100 percent growth in this sector.

``Nuclear power would be an inevitable option for the developing countries that are now badly in need of power,'' Chidambaram said to the over 65 delegates from 32 countries who had come to attend the seminar organised under the auspices of the IAEA.

Deputy Director General of IAEA, Victor Mourogov said that the IAEA doesn't have any mandate to impose safety strictures on member countries. ``It is the responsibility of the member countries to look after the safety of their nuclear installations,'' he said. What became clear was, IAEA's proliferation concerns thanenforcing safety measures on member countries. ``We can only provide technical assistance and advise them on safety issues,'' Mourogov said.

Seminar chairperson S R Hatcher said that the world is still a long away from realising the dream of ``affordable energy'' from nuclear sources and pointed out that issues like infrastructure, regulation and training are the main impediments in the developing countries. He also emphasised the need for reducing the capital costs of nuclear plants so that it becomes an economically viable option for developing countries.