India, Canada to Sign Civil Nuclear Agreement During Manmohan Singh Visit

India and Canada are set to sign a civilian nuclear energy agreement this weekend that will allow the South Asian nation to secure uranium, and nuclear equipment and technology to meet its energy needs.

The accord is expected to be initialed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s stay in Toronto for the G-20 summit from June 26.

Negotiations have made “substantial progress” and the agreement is waiting for approval by both sides, Vivek Katju, a secretary at India’s foreign ministry, said in New Delhi today. “The agreement will cover the large ambit of peaceful nuclear applications.”

Asia’s third-biggest energy consumer needs uranium, boilers, reactors and turbines as it plans to raise nuclear generation capacity 10-fold over the next decade to sustain its economic growth.

A three-decade ban on nuclear supplies to the country was lifted in September 2008, following which the government has signed civil nuclear agreements with countries including U.S., Russia, France and Namibia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net

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