Ending the international isolation for 34 years, since the first nuclear test in Pokhran in 1974, India signed the first historic agreement with France on Civil Nuclear Cooperation on 30th Sept’08, within less than a month after getting exemption from 45-member NSG group for nuclear commerce on 6th September.
The agreement addresses wide ranging issues from applied nuclear research to full nuclear cooperation in the fields of nuclear reactor, fuel supply, radiation management, environment protection and nuclear fuel cycle management.
It is heartening to see that the agreement has been signed even before the US Congressional node for Indo-US nuclear deal.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner signed the Agreement in presence of Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Elysee palace in Paris.
It is worthwhile to mention that India conducted two nuclear tests, first in 1974 (after 10 years from China doing it in 1964) during Indira Gandhi’ premiership and the second in 1974 during Atal Behari Bajpai as prime minister, both at Pokhran in Rajsthan desert. It was Indira Gandhi who took India to the coveted Nuclear-club after her life best performance of winning war with Pakistan in a most decisive manner in 1971.
After Pokhran Nuclear test in 1974, US and other western countries and their allies stopped nuclear fuel supply to India and it was again Russia (the then Soviet Union) bailed India out supplying fuel rods.
India presently has 22 nuclear reactors (out of which 14 would be placed under IAEA safe guards) supplying some 3700MW (Installled Capacity 3880MW) of electricity. It is roughly 3% of India’s total power grid energy . With the entry into a new era of nuclear commerce, India has an ambitious program to have 20000MW nuclear power in the power grid by 2020 and 40000MW by 2030 without the fear of shortage of nuclear fuel supply. This would go a long way in containing carbon-dioxide emission caused by burning fossil fuel. The clean nuclear fuel would therefore reduce green house effect reducing global warming.
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