With no policy hurdles before them, India and the US have begun the process of exchanging the signed copies of Administrative Arrangements (AA) for the nuclear agreement between them. The AA text of the deal was finalised during the visit of US President Barack Obama in January and contains the terms and conditions for the implementation of the India-US nuclear deal. This paves way for implementation of the agreement which was signed seven years ago.
“After the necessary internal procedures, the signed texts are currently being exchanged between India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the US Department of Energy,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson for External Affairs Ministry. Besides, the India-US Contact group had met on Thursday to explore ways to better commercial prospects of the deals after necessary arrangements are made.
In a follow-up of civil nuclear agreement between the two countries, Indian officials on Friday conducted a workshop involving over 100 experts from USA, Russia, Japan and France to see how to go about Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP). Indian officials briefed international partners on setting up of the fund as a part of the overall risk-management scheme for liability.
Among those who attended the meeting were Neeru Chadha, Additional Secretary in legal and Treaties Division, Vinay Kwatra, JS (Americas], Amandeep Singh Gill, JS Disarmament and International Security Affairs apart from atomic experts and officials of Nuclear Controls and Planning Wing (NCPW) of DAE, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Representatives from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and various countries including Australia, Canada, France, Japan (Toshiba, Japan International Co-operative Bank), US (Westinghouse) and Russia (Rosatom) attended the workshop.