India on Monday signed a key
safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to allow inspection of additional civilian reactors, clearing the decks for supply of atomic fuel and technology by the international community after a 34-year-old
nuke trade embargo was lifted last year.
The pact between the government of India and the UN atomic watchdog for the 'Application of Safeguards to Civilian Nuclear Facilities' was inked in Vienna by IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei and Indian Amabassador Saurabh Kumar.
India currently applies inspection by the IAEA in six civilian nuclear reactors under safeguards agreements concluded between 1971 and 1994. In the future, additional reactors are expected to be brought under IAEA safeguards under the newly-signed agreement. "The safeguards agreement, which is the result of several rounds of consultations conducted between India and the IAEA since November 2007, was approved by the IAEA Board of Governors in August 2008," the IAEA said in a statement. The agreement will enter into force once it was ratified by India, it said
The India-specific safeguards agreement was approved by the 35-member IAEA Board on August 1 last year. With this, India can go ahead with its nuclear commerce