India signs pact with France's Areva for nuclear reactors

India signs pact with France's Areva for nuclear reactorsNew Delhi  - French nuclear group Areva Wednesday signed an agreement to build atomic power plants in India, the first commercial contract that ends the South Asian country's three-decade nuclear isolation.

Areva will build up to six new-generation European Pressurized Reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra.

The deal between state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Areva was signed in New Delhi in the presence of French Minister for Foreign Trade Anne-Marie Idrac and Junior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan.

The agreement follows the signing of the bilateral pact between India and France on September 30 on civil nuclear cooperation.

It was the first commercial nuclear agreement since the Nuclear Suppliers Group in September 2008 lifted a 34-year-old ban to allow India to trade in fissile materials and technology.

India has also signed intergovernmental civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the US, Russia and Kazakhstan since September. (dpa)

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