NEW DELHI: The United States is taking the final steps to remove obstacles for a civil nuclear partnership between American and Indian companies, outgoing US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced on Monday.The move seeks to provide fresh momentum to the landmark nuclear deal between the two nations, which ended India’s nuclear isolation. The US plans to remove Indian entities, including the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, from its restricted list to boost nuclear power and high-tech cooperation.Sullivan who is on a farewell visit to India met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to discuss the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship, especially high-tech cooperation.India’s nuclear liability law, which also holds the supplier of plants — rather than just the operator — accountable for a nuclear accident, has been a stumbling block between the two countries. The US has long opposed this approach, which they say deviates from the global norm of holding the operator liable.India and the US unveiled an ambitious plan to cooperate in civil nuclear energy in July 2005, following a meeting between then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush. The India-US civil nuclear agreement was signed in 2008.Although the transformative deal significantly enhanced overall bilateral engagement including technological cooperation besides ending India’s isolation in the arena, tangible progress in the civil nuclear energy sector remained elusive between the two countries, primarily due to the liability law and some of the key entities being in the restrictive list.
Source link
