India made no addl commitments to Japan for inking nuke pact:

India today asserted that the termination clause in the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) with Japan was nothing "new" and that New Delhi had made no additional commitments to clinch the deal other than what it had committed itself to while declaring a unilateral moratorium on testing nuclear weapons in 2008.
He also insisted that all clauses in the NCA were binding on the two parties.
However, the circumstances of termination, by their very nature, are not specifiable in the NCA and a comprehensive reading of the entirety of the provision to understand the hypothetical possibilities as well as the mitigating circumstances and consequences was required, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Sawrup said.

"India appreciates the special sensitivities of Japan on nuclear issues. It was felt that a note on views expressed by the Japanese side in the above context could be recorded. Such a record, to be balanced, also needed an accurate depiction of India's position.
"The 'Note on Views and Understanding' reiterates the commitments that India made in September 2008. No change is envisaged from those commitments and no additional commitments have been made by India," Swarup added.
He was asked about the termination clause in the Indo- Japan NCA and if India had made any exemptions while inking the deal. The NCA was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan last week.

"The NCA, in fact, has a specific article (No. 14) devoted to termination and cessation of cooperation in certain circumstances. This is not new and is similar, in fact almost identical, to the provision in the US Agreement.

"Any suggestion that the termination clause in the NCA is not binding on India is factually incorrect. All clauses of the NCA are binding on both parties," Swarup said.
He further said that what must be appreciated is that the NCA opens up new avenues of civil nuclear energy cooperation with international partners.
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Asked if there was any move to review India's nuclear doctrine, the MEA Spokesperson said India is committed to Credible Minimum Deterrence and No First Use of nuclear weapons. "There is no change in our policy," he added.

His remarks came against the backdrop of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar expressing his personal opinion over India's policy of no first use of nuclear weapons.
On Bhutan's National Assembly voting against Bangladesh-Bhutan-India Nepal project, Swarup said the Motor Vehicles Agreement was signed in Thimphu last year by the representatives of the four governments.
The National Assembly of Bhutan had endorsed the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement early this year and had forwarded it to the National Council of Bhutan for consideration.
"We remain hopeful that the Royal Government of Bhutan will be able to complete the necessary internal procedures for operationalisation of this agreement at an early date," he said.