Logjam broken, civil nuclear deal with US done: MEA

Foreign Secretary says admin arrangements finalised, it is now up to firms to do their own risk assessment

Asserting that the logjam over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal had been broken, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh said that the United States and India had achieved significant outcomes on the deal and in the areas of energy and economic co-operation.

The foreign secretary said at a press conference in New Delhi, that based on three meetings between the contact groups of the two countries, there has been an understanding on the issue of civil liability and that the Washington and New Delhi are moving towards commercial co-operation in the area of nuclear energy. Steps have been finalised towards finalising the 1-2-3 agreement.

Singh said that administrative arrangements have been finalised and it is now up to firms to do their own risk assessment.

She added that the two leaders, Barack Obama and Narendra Modi, also agreed to facilitate India's entry into the elite nuclear suppliers' group.

An MEA official said that a Rs 1,500 crore India nuclear insurance pool had been created, to which four insurers would contribute Rs 750 crore and the rest would come from the government. He said the pool was similar to 26 such pools across the world.

America has also evinced interest in India's defence sector apart from the country's 100 GW solar energy programme.