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Indian Rare Earths, IGCAR and BARC were removed from a list of entities barred from accessing nuclear tech.
The US has removed three entities, as was said by its NSA Jake Sullivan earlier this month, from its list of entities barred from accessing US nuclear tech. (IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK/REPRESENTATIVE)
The United States has removed three key Indian entities—Indian Rare Earths, Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center (IGCAR), and Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC)—from its restrictive list, sources told CNN-News18.
The announcement comes days after outgoing US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi (IIT-D) that some Indian entities would be removed from a list of entities barred from accessing nuclear tech.
The US NSA pointed out that despite the Civil Nuclear Deal signed by former PM Manmohan Singh and US President George Bush two decades ago, the two countries have yet to fully realize civil nuclear cooperation.
“The United States is now finalizing the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and US companies,” he had said.
“The formal paperwork will be done soon, but this will be an opportunity to turn the page on some of the frictions of the past and create opportunities for entities that have been on restricted lists in the United States to come off those lists,” he added.
A report by Reuters said that the United States had placed restrictions on more than 200 Indian entities after India tested nuclear weapons in 1998, but many have been taken off the list over the years as bilateral ties evolved.
In 2019, India and the US agreed to build six US nuclear power plants in India.
