India to open civilian nuclear programme to greater scrutiny

The Indian Government on Monday said that it is ratifying an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to expand oversight of its civilian nuclear programme.

"The government has decided to ratify the additional protocol call to the India specific safeguards agreements. We had signed this earlier, what we have now decided is to take the next step which is of ratification. This is a signal of our commitment to abide by our international obligations," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

India aims to lift its nuclear capacity to 63,000 megawatts in the next 20 years by adding nearly 30 reactors. It currently operates 20 reactors at six sites with a capacity of 4,780 MW, or 2 percent of its total power capacity, according to NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited).

After the U.S.-India nuclear deal was signed, the IAEA in 2009 had approved the Additional Protocol, which was intended to clear the way for the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) to grant India a waiver to trade with other countries in the civilian nuclear field.

Ratification is seen as a step towards separating civilian and military nuclear operations. It could help unlock tens of billions of dollars in U.S.-led investment in new nuclear generation capacity.