US, India ink first nuke deal commercial pact

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and American firm Westinghouse Electric Company have inked the first India-United States commercial pact.

President Barack Obama announced the historic agreement after his meeting with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Oval Office of the White House.

The agreement is expected to ensure progress towards licensing of an AP-1000 nuclear reactor technology in India, a fact sheet released by the White House said.

The fact sheet also welcomed India's plans to develop commercial nuclear power sites in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with the help of American nuclear technology.

Administrative arrangements for these plans are expected to be finalised soon.

India plans to buy six of the Westinghouse-manufactured AP 1000 nuclear reactors in a deal said to be worth about 14 billion dollars.

The proposed nuclear power projects are expected to come up in the Chayya-Mithivirdi region of Gujarat.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) are likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the exchange of technical information in nuclear safety matters.

The White House fact sheet said that the U.S. continues to support India's full membership in the four multilateral export control regimes - Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime, Wassenaar Arrangement, and Australia Group, in a phased manner.

Washington has also welcomed India's March 2013 update to its Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technology (SCOMET) list.

The United States and India also collaborate on nuclear security issues and look forward to working together in the lead up to the next Nuclear Security Summit to be held in The Hague in March 2014, the White House said in its statement.