Nuclear Energy

of enrichment and reprocessing technologies to states that do not have them and support
international efforts to limit their spread; in exchange, President Bush promised to get the US
Congress to adjust US laws and policies and also work with other countries to modify international
regimes to enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation and trade with India. cdxiv
The deal took more than three years to come to fruition as it had to go through several
complex stages. In its final shape, the deal places under permanent safeguards those nuclear
facilities that India has identified as "civil" and permits broad civil nuclear cooperation, while
excluding the transfer of "sensitive" equipment and technologies even under IAEA safeguards. On
August 18, 2008 the IAEA Board of Governors approved the safeguards agreement with India, and
on February 2, 2009, India signed an India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA. Once
India brings this agreement into force, inspections will begin in a phased manner on the 35 civilian
nuclear installations India has identified in its Separation Plan.
Following the approval by the IAEA board, the United States approached the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG) to grant a waiver to India to commence civilian nuclear trade. The 45-
nation NSG granted the waiver to India on September 6, 2008 allowing it to access civilian nuclear
technology and fuel from other countries, without becoming a party to the NPT.
The US House of Representatives passed legislation allowing civil nuclear trade with India
on September 28, 2008. On October 1, 2008 the US Senate also approved the agreement, which was
signed into law by U.S. President, George W. Bush, on October 8, 2008. Two days later, the Indian
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart the US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, formally inked the agreement.
While the US Congress discussed the deal threadbare before approving it, Prime Minister
Singh blocked the Indian Parliament from scrutinizing the deal. Not only that, the Bush
administration’s replies to questions raised by US Congressmen on the nuclear deal (which were
kept under wraps and only made public in September 2008) reveal that the Indian Prime Minister
has blithely lied to the Indian Parliament while defending the nuclear deal. cdxv
1. Uranium Imports
Part IV: New Nuclear Plans after the Deal
Following the clearance given by the Nuclear Suppliers group, India has signed agreements
with a number of countries for uranium supplies, including France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia
and Mongolia. On September 1, 2009, unit 2 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS-2),
which had been shut down for some repairs, became the first reactor to supply power to the grid
using uranium imported from France and Russia. cdxvi During the period January – July 2010, India
imported 868 tonnes of uranium from France, Russia and Kazakhstan, and, according to the DAE,
as of August 2010, seven reactors were using imported uranium. cdxvii
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