As India and US sit tomorrow to negotiate a bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, it is clear that the document will contain significant assurances on fuel supply which would allow India to stockpile fuel for the lifetime of every reactor.

India will also be moving forward on negotiations over the safeguards agreement with an IAEA team expected to arrive here later this month. But all this is preparatory and the signing would happen only after the US Congress passes the enabling legislation.

The unique fuel supply assurance was agreed upon during negotiations on the separation plan and has not been ever conceded to any country not recognised as a nuclear weapons state.

In practical terms, there will be no restriction on how much fuel India can buy. India can import fuel beyond the immediate requirement of its reactors on the grounds that it will be part of a strategic reserve.

This is part of a string of other assurances like US help in negotiating a India-specific fuel supply agreement with the IAEA and a back-up arrangement that in case all these assurances fail, US and India will convene a group of supplier friendly countries like Russia, UK and France to restore supply.

This is in return for India agreeing to accept permanent safeguards on its civilian facilities unlike other nuclear weapon states.

On the India-specific legislation pending with the Congress, it has been agreed that even the agreement will be put on vote.

In discussions between principal interlocutors Shyam Saran and Nicholas Burns in London, Washington conveyed that it had come up with a compromise that Congress takes up the legislation and puts it on vote but will also get a chance to vote upon the bilateral agreement once it is negotiated.

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