Not just Tarapur, other reactors too will get US fuel supply

In an impressive gain for India, the Bush Administration has agreed to supply not only enriched uranium to fuel the Tarapur reactors, but al...

In an impressive gain for India, the Bush Administration has agreed to supply not only enriched uranium to fuel the Tarapur reactors, but also natural uranium for other reactors that are at the heart of the national nuclear energy programme.

In one stroke, the US decision under the nuclear pact signed Monday, addresses a long-standing vulnerability of India’s civilian nuclear programme—the lack of enough domestic reserves of natural uranium.

Well placed sources in the Indian delegation say the Bush Administration’s commitment came upon the insistence of Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Story continues below this ad

Those familiar with the drama of Indo-US nuclear negotiations—that oscillated between success and failure throughout the last weekend—say it was a master stroke by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to include two top scientists in his delegation.

The presence of Kakodkar and G Madhavan Nair, who heads the Indian space programme in the delegation, sources add, ensured that the Prime Minister had the best and highest possible technical inputs in the complex negotiations with the US on nuclear and space related issues.

The presence of these two top scientists allowed India to maximise the gains from the negotiations with the US. It was also an insurance against inevitable criticism at home—either politically motivated or ill-informed. The effective participation of Kakodkar and Madhavan Nair in the talks ensured that all the interests of these two key sectors of India’s strategic scientific complex were protected.

The US commitment to supply natural uranium to those reactors India chooses to place under international safeguards was only one of the many positive results from the nuclear pact with the United States.

Story continues below this ad

The nuclear pact commits the Bush Administration now to press its allies and partners to let India into future-oriented international nuclear ventures like ‘‘ITER’’ and ‘‘Generation IV International Forum’’. The former is aimed at producing electric power from nuclear fusion. The GIF brings together some ten advanced countries which pool their resources in developing a new generation of fission reactors.

The so-called Generation IV reactors are safer, cheaper, and more efficient. They also produce less radioactive waste. The Department of Atomic Energy has been keen to join and contribute to both the scientific ventures.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has agreed to remove a number of important Indian nuclear and space establishments from list of entities which have been facing US sanctions.

These include the two nuclear reactors at the Tarapur Power Station and the two at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Stations. Also included are the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) and the Space Applications Centre (SAC). The notification on this is expected next week.