India, US conclude n-reprocessing agreement - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said India and the United States have completed negotiations on 'arrangements and procedures' for reprocessing US-obligated spent nuclear fuel and described it as an important step for implementation of civil nuclear cooperation agreement. "India and the United States have taken an important step towards implementing the civil nuclear cooperation agreement, by completing negotiations on "arrangements and procedures" for reprocessing U.S.-obligated spent nuclear fuel" said a Ministry of External Affairs statement here on Monday. Completion of these arrangements will enable participation by US firms in India 's civil nuclear energy sector. Negotiations on these arrangements and procedures commenced in July 2009 and were concluded during the last round of negotiations held in New Delhi on 2-4 March, 2010. According to the MEA statement: " These arrangements, negotiated pursuant to Article 6(iii) of the Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, will enable Indian reprocessing of U.S.-obligated nuclear material under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.” The completion of Reprocessing negotiation will augur well for the Indo-US civil nuclear energy trade and but there is yet another challenge which staring that is the ratification of civil nuclear liability bill which is drawing stiff resistance from the opposition.