• Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should be brought under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as they are not safe in such a rogue nation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on May 16.

• The Defence Minister’s comments came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would not tolerate “nuclear blackmail” by Pakistan and would punish cross-border terrorism strongly.

• The whole world has seen how irresponsibly Pakistan has given nuclear threats to India several times, he said interacting with troops in Srinagar, days after launch of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

• Meanwhile, the global nuclear watchdog has said there was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear facility in Pakistan during the country’s recent military conflict with India.

• The IAEA’s statement came amid claims being made on social media that Pakistan’s nuclear facilities were hit by Indian armed forces during ‘Operation Sindoor’.

• India’s strikes hit an airbase in Sargodha and there were some reports that the base is linked to an underground nuclear storage facility in Kirana Hills.

International Atomic Energy Agency

• Widely known as the ‘Atoms for Peace and Development’ organisation within the United Nations family, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the world’s central inter-governmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field.

• The agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

• The IAEA was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology. The agency’s genesis was US President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 8, 1953.

• The US Ratification of the Statute by President Eisenhower on July 29, 1957, marks the official birth of the IAEA.

• In October 1957, the delegates to the First General Conference decided to establish the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

• The IAEA has 180 Member States.

• India is a founding member of IAEA.

• The IAEA has also two regional offices located in Toronto and Tokyo, as well as two liaison offices in New York City and Geneva. The agency runs laboratories specialised in nuclear technology in Vienna, Seibersdorf and Monaco.

• The IAEA’s policy-making bodies decide on the agency’s programmes and budgets. They comprise the General Conference of all Member States and the 35-member Board of Governors. The General Conference convenes annually at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, typically in September. The Board meets five times per year, also in Vienna.

Director General of IAEA

• IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi assumed office on December 3, 2019. In September 2023 the IAEA’s 67th General Conference approved by acclamation his re-appointment to serve a second four-year term of office starting December 3, 2023.

• Grossi is a diplomat with almost 40 years of experience in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament. In 2013, he was appointed ambassador of Argentina to Austria and Argentine Representative to the IAEA and other Vienna-based international organisations.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store