However, Kakodkar, who attended the UN atomic watchdog’s 51st General Conference, remained mum on whether there were any discussions with the IAEA on the India-specific safeguards agreement, a pre-requisite for the operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

“I will not say anything on that,” Kakodkar said shortly before his departure when asked about his informal discussions with IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei.

India also has to secure changes in the guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) to gain access to nuclear commerce.

Left parties, which have been stoutly opposing the deal, have demanded that its operationalisation be put on hold for six months failing which the UPA government will have to face “grave” consequences.

Describing the week-long IAEA meet as “successful”, Kakodkar said it was so particularly this year because of the “greater awareness of the larger role of nuclear energy in meeting the global energy needs”.

He said the meet was important for several reasons “particularly India’s recognition as the most advanced nation in nuclear fuel cycle technology by the world leaders”.

During the two-day scientific meet, an integral part of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was attended by about 500 participants, the importance of ‘closed nuclear fuel cycle’ was widely discussed by scientists as also India’s expertise in the field.

Experts were curious to know about India’s thorium-based power plant and fast-breeder reactors.

“We were also the first to pilot a resolution on the development and deployment of small and medium reactors (SMR), which was passed unanimously at the general conference,” Kakodkar said.

Making a strong pitch for international nuclear energy cooperation with India at the forum, Kakodkar, while addressing the forum, had made it clear that nuclear power was an “inevitable option” and pressed for “reformation” of global thinking on the issue.

Kakodkar favoured a closed fuel cycle to reduce the risk of proliferation of fissile material, a proposal backed by several countries.

Currently, the spent fuel from atomic power plants is stocked in high security facilities. This fuel can be reprocessed to extract plutonium, which can be used to create nuclear weapons.

“We cannot put future security at risk through the once-through cycle,” he had argued.

The one time use of uranium fuel should not promoted as it is important for the world to make use of the spent fuel to maximise energy production and minimise the radioactive waste, he had contended.

The IAEA has been generally supportive of the nuclear deal, with its chief  ElBaradei describing it as “good” and “a step in the right direction”.