It will be “some time” before India’s civil nuclear cooperation agreement with France can be operationalised, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said. The landmark accord was signed yesterday.
“It will take some time for this agreement (with France) or other agreements that we sign to be operationalised,” Singh told reporters while returning home after his visit to the US and France. The prime minister had yesterday said similar agreements would be negotiated with other European countries.
Asked if the agreement had finally cleared the decks for French nuclear firms to have a share of the $100-billion Indian nuclear pie, the prime minister said the pact signed in Paris was a framework agreement and several steps needed to be taken by both countries to go through various procedures. “I think the sequencing will be decided on its own merits,” Singh said.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar had also indicated in Paris after the accord was initialled in the presence of the prime minister and French President Nikolas Sarkozy that it would take a while for French nuclear firms to set up shop in India.
Asked how soon could French nuclear companies expected to win contracts, Kakodkar said there were some parallel processes which needed to be followed, like having additional protocols in India-specific International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
French nuclear giants like Areva, Alstorm and EDF appear keen to do business with India in this field.
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On the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, which is before the American Senate after getting the crucial approval of the House of Representatives, Singh said he would like to see the final outcome of the process that was under way.
He said if India’s concerns were addressed, the nuclear initiative would help it move forward to manage its energy situation in a manner consistent with its national goals of combating climate change through clean sources of energy.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India is in preliminary talks with Areva for two latest third-generation European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) and nuclear fuel. Areva is the world’s largest builder of nuclear reactors. Eighty per cent of France’s electricity comes from nuclear energy.
Although no contracts have been signed, French officials expect new developments in this regard in the coming months. In all, 35 French firms are reported to be looking at the civil nuclear sector in India.
Meanwhile, the prime minister refused to commit himself on two most important issues of self-perception — how he thought he has changed after becoming India’s prime minister and if he is ready to accept this office again.
“As finance minister I was only a member of the team but now I am the captain of the team,” was how he responded to a question if the country was seeing a transformed Manmohan Singh.
On whether he thought he would occupy the post again, he said it was “too early” to say who the Congress’ potential prime ministerial candidate would be. He said there were several leaders who were equally qualified or better qualified than him.
As the captain of the team, the prime minister was quick to defend his colleague, Home Minister Shivraj Patil. “There are problems in the system to counter terrorism and it is not a question of one individual,” he said.
“You don't expect me to discuss the issue of Cabinet formation at a press conference,” Singh said when asked if there would be a Cabinet-level change in the home ministry.