Vienna - India signed an inspection agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday, fulfilling a
main precondition before nuclear exporting countries can start to
supply India's growing atomic power sector.
Indian ambassador Saurabh Kumar signed the so-called safeguards
agreement at the IAEA's Vienna headquarters, the agency confirmed. In
a next step, the pact has to be ratified by the Indian government.
Under the 2006 civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United
States, the South Asian atomic weapons state agreed to separate its
military and civilian nuclear facilities.
It also pledged to place 14 power reactors under IAEA monitoring
by 2014, up from the six currently safeguarded by agency inspectors.
Last September, the Nuclear Suppliers Group of nuclear exporting
countries decided to end its supply ban for India, based on the
agreement with the United States and on the condition that IAEA
inspections are in place.
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said Monday that the
safeguards agreement was a 'milestone' that would bring India 'into
the full mainstream, working with the agency in the area of
verification and opening the door for India to make full use of
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.'
Currently nuclear power supplies only about 3 per cent of India's
electricity, but the government plans to increase this to 25 per cent
by 2050 to help meet the country's burgeoning energy needs.
India has already concluded nuclear cooperation agreements with
the United States, France, Russia and Kazakhstan and is planning to
sign one with Canada for resumption of nuclear commerce.
'It is important for the integration of India in the global
civilian nuclear community,' Kumar said after the signing.
The next immediate step would be to work on the process of
ratification by the Indian government, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of
India's Atomic Energy Commission was quoted as saying by the Indian
PTI news agency.
The Department of Atomic Energy would also file a declaration to
the IAEA on which facilities would be placed under safeguards and in
what time frame that would happen, Kakodkar said.
A diplomat in Vienna, who did not want to be named, said India
seemed to be 'in no hurry' to ratify the treaty, as some of the 14
reactors had not been built yet.
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