India and Russia are considering the setting up of a joint venture to produce nuclear fuel in India, Russia's nuclear chief said.
“A project to build a factory in India for the production of nuclear fuel is under consideration,” Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said in the wake of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to India.
The possibility of setting up a nuclear fuel facility in India is envisaged in the Inter-Government Agreement on Cooperation in the use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purpose, signed on Friday in New Delhi. The accord is also understood to provide for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in India under international safeguards.
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Diplomatic sources in Moscow said the Indo-Russian nuclear agreement was “to India's full satisfaction” in contrast to the 123 agreement with the United States. Russian officials earlier said the agreement did not contain any restrictions on the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology.
India may also take up the Russia offer to participate in an international nuclear fuel enrichment centre at Angarsk, Siberia, RIA Novosti reported quoting Indian Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee. Even as he described the Russia proposal as an “attractive” option, Mr. Banerjee said it called for a detailed technical and commercial evaluation.