NEW DELHI, Mar 31: In a landmark moment for the India-US civil nuclear deal, which was signed two decades ago, the US’ Department of Energy (DoE) has given the final approval permitting a US company to jointly design and build nuclear power plants in India.
Though the overall framework of the India-US civil nuclear agreement was signed back in 2007 by then prime minister Manmohan Singh and then US president George W Bush, it has taken nearly 20 years of negotiation, detailed discussions, legal and regulatory clearances, technology permits, liability clauses, and fine-tuning of blueprints to finally get the green signal to execute plans.
Till now, under the India-US civil nuclear deal, US firms could export nuclear reactors and equipment to India, but forbid them from any design work or manufacturing of nuclear equipment in India. New Delhi had remained firm that everything – from design, manufacturing, and transfer of technology – had to be done in India. Successive governments stood firm by this. Now, after many years, and Russia gaining ground, US has agreed to the terms set by New Delhi. US and Indian firms will now jointly manufacture Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and co-produce all its components and parts as well. This is being seen as a big win for Indian diplomacy. The approval was given on March 26, 2025, official sources said on Monday.
However, the US has set one condition – that these jointly-designed and manufactured nuclear power plants “will not be re-transferred to any other entity or end user in India or to other countries except the United States without the prior written consent of the Government of the United States.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
