One nuclear deal done, more lined up

Looking beyond, India has extended an invitation to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day Parade. Kazakhstan has 15 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves and is an important prospective seller for India. Negotiations are also underway with Niger for uranium, shortage of which is currently hampering the Indian programme.

While Australia, which has the world’s largest uranium reserves, is restricted by its policy not to sell nuclear fuel to countries that have not signed the NPT, sources said possibilities are being explored to sell from Africa, where some Australian companies own mines, as Canberra does not want to lag behind in bidding for the Indian market.

But before all of this, sources said, the government will first initiate a debate in Parliament with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee expected to make statements right at the start of business in the upcoming session of Parliament starting October 17.

The government will provide details of the developments on the nuclear front since it won the trust vote in July. Given that the PM had said he would come back to Parliament before operationalising the agreement, the government will look to allay concerns that continue to be voiced even after India has obtained a clean NSG waiver and signed framework agreements with US and France.

The government also plans to amend the Atomic Energy Act to strengthen the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board as a precursor to allowing private investment. Discussions are underway whether to go in for a one-time amendment that opens doors for private investment or to move one step at a time by first strengthening the regulatory mechanism.

The other major issue, particularly for US companies to enter Indian market, is the introduction of a Liabilities Act where the State would have to insure in case of any major incident in nuclear sites with foreign reactors. This is part of an international practice on which US laws make it a mandatory requirement for its companies can make investment in this sector. France and Russia, however, do not impose such stringent requirements.