India has asked Australia to lift the ban on uranium sales to its nuclear plants, describing its non-proliferation record as "impeccable" during talks Monday during which the two countries decided to form a group to examine the US-India deal on civilian nuclear energy, news reports said. Visiting Australian Premier John Howard who held talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh was non-committal to the Indian request but said his country was "positive" about the US-India deal and sought more details on it, DPA reported. "The two countries have agreed to set up a group of officials to understand the agreement together and to examine what India and Australia can do together in this respect," Sanjaya Baru, media adviser to the Indian premier, told the IANS news agency. Under the Indo-US deal that was clinched during the recent visit of US President George W Bush to New Delhi, India, which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will get access to long-denied nuclear technology and fuel provided it places its civilian nuclear reactors under international safeguards. Australia which has nearly 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves, has so far maintained that it would not supply uranium to countries that had not signed the NPT. Singh mentioned he had raised the issue of nuclear cooperation in his talks and "sincerely expected" Canberra to review its stand of not selling uranium to India, the PTI news agency reported. Following the summit, Singh announced that India and Australia had signed six pacts including a trade and economic framework, an air services agreement, MoUs (memorandum of understanding) on cooperation in defence, customs and biotechnology and a letter of intent on the establishment of a strategic research fund. Earlier on Monday, Howard met Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam as well as other Indian leaders, including the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chief Sonia Gandhi and the leader of opposition, LK Advani.
