Indian nuclear security weaker than Pakistan’s: US report

WASHINGTON: A significant US report on nuclear terrorism has claimed that Indian nuclear security systems are vulnerable to domestic threats owing to corruption in that country.

The report titled “preventing nuclear terrorism: continuous improvements or dangerous decline” released by the Harvard Kennedy School expressed concern over “insider threats” against India’s nuclear assets.

“There are concerns about insider threats within Indian nuclear facilities,” the report said, adding that it faces significant insider corruption though it is thought to be less severe than in Pakistan or Russia.

The report cited a couple of incidents to back up the claim, saying that despite a personnel reliability programme in place, a CISF head constable at the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Station shot and killed three people with his service rifle just two years ago.

“Given the limited information available about India’s nuclear security measures, it is difficult to judge whether India’s nuclear security is capable of protecting against the threats it faces,” the report said.

“Although India has taken significant measures to protect its nuclear sites, recent reports suggest that its nuclear security measures may be weaker than those of Pakistan, though likely adversary threats in India are less extreme. Overall, the risk appears to be moderate, and there is no clear trend, either upward or downward,” it said.

The report further noted that India has a relatively small stockpile of nuclear weapons and weapons-usable nuclear material at a limited number of sites, which are believed to be heavily guarded, yet US officials have ranked Indian nuclear security measures as weaker than those of Pakistan and Russia.

The US experts visited the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 2008 and described the security arrangements as “extraordinarily low key”. The threats to India’s nuclear security systems appear to be significant, though not like it exists in Pakistan, the report claimed.