India Archive

Two of the major sticking points of the U.S.-India nuclear deal (or 123 Agreement) were India’s right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, but especially the degree to which India’s access to imported nuclear fuel would be guaranteed. The reason being that India wanted to maintain its liberty of action with regards to nuclear weapons testing, while the international community wanted to make sure the IAEA and NSG safeguards agreements that allowed the deal to go through wouldn’t just be a way for India to get a free pass on the Non-Proliferation Treaty. India viewed both the Hyde Act and the […]

As expected, the big winner of the U.S.-India nuclear deal, which just passed the House and might be approved by the Senate as early as today, is France. Actually, that’s just a catchy lede, because the agreement signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian PM Manmohan Singh yesterday in Paris is simply the French equivalent of the American “1-2-3 Agreement.” The actual contracts between Areva and India have yet to be signed (although I’d be surprised if there aren’t any rough drafts already circulating). They would eventually need EU approval as per the Euratom Treaty [Update: Looks like Sarkozy […]