Indo-French civil nuke in force

Indo-French agreement on the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy enters into force on Friday,a multiform civil nuclear cooperation and paving way for companies to build atomic power plants in India.Indo-French nuclear agreement allows for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from French atomic reactors under safeguards, and gives an assurance of lifetime supply of nuclear fuel for these reactors.It does not bar the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technologies.
France becomes the second country after Russia to give unconditional rights to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to India.The agreement makes it mandatory that reprocessing be done under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).The pact came into force after Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont exchanged the instruments of ratification of the agreement between the two governments signed in Paris on September 30, 2008.

"In accordance with the provisions of the Agreement, it enters into force on the same day," a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.